Top leadership vows steps against property bubbles

Models of residential buildings are seen at a sales center in Zhengzhou, Henan province, September 23, 2016.[Photo/Agencies]

More measures will be taken to control property bubbles, the top leadership said at a high-level financial meeting Wednesday.

Regulating the housing rental market and curbing property bubbles are two main steps needed to manage people's residential needs, President Xi Jinping said at a meeting of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economic Affairs.

Xi said the country should form a housing mechanism that meets both purchase and rental purposes and housing demands of a new urban population.

This is the fourth time that the central government has talked about asset bubbles this year, following July 26, Oct 28 and the Central Economic Work Conference held on Dec 14-16.

The major task should moderately adjust from stabilizing economic growth to curbing asset price bubbles, especially in the property market, as pressures on stable growth have been relieved somewhat, Liu Yuanchun, executive director of the National Academy of Development and Strategy under Renmin University of China, told National Business Daily.

At the tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference last week, the policymakers highlighted curbing asset bubbles in next year's economic work.

The meeting called for comprehensive measures to build a market-oriented and long-term mechanism that could curtail a property bubble and prevent big ups and downs in the market.

In cities where prices are rising fast, authorities should increase land supply and the share of residential housing, according to a statement released after the conference.

"Houses are built for living, not for speculation," the statement said.

China will take a varied approach to regulating the property market, adopting financial, fiscal, tax, land and regulation measures to build a long-term housing mechanism that provides housing for all people.

Xinhua contributed to this story.