By Cui Can
China's housing authorities said on Thursday that the real estate sector will not be leveraged as a short-term means to stimulate the economy.
On Feb. 24, 2022, the State Council Information Office holds a press conference in Beijing about advancing high-quality development in the housing and urban-rural development sector. [Photo by Liu Jian/China SCIO]
Ni Hong, vice minister of housing and urban-rural development, said during a press conference that China will maintain the principle that houses are for living in and not for speculation.
At the press conference, Ni said that China will keep its regulatory policies consistent and stable, and pursue a mechanism for fostering long-term development of the property market. Efforts will be made to ensure people's basic needs for living, and to maintain stability in market expectations as well as in land and real estate prices, he said.
Ni also pointed out that, to make policies more targeted and coordinated, China will strengthen coordination in areas including finance and land and market supervision.
In addition, the government will vigorously address project delivery risks of individual property developers who have defaulted their debt, Ni said.
Chinese people's demand for housing is relatively strong, said Wang Menghui, minister of housing and urban-rural development. The country has sustained a rapid development in urbanization, as more than 11 million people are added to the workforce in urban areas each year.
This year, China aims to offer 2.4 million units of affordable rental homes and 100,000 units of public rental homes, and renovate another 1.2 million housing units in rundown areas, according to Wang.
