China needs to do more to boost employment and stabilize the property market, senior officials acknowledged on Saturday, as policymakers work to revive the country’s battered economy.
Beijing is grappling with a protracted housing crisis, record youth unemployment and a global economic slowdown that has hit demand for Chinese goods.
After youth unemployment reached an unprecedented 21.3% in mid-2023, officials suspended the release of monthly data.
Home prices have fallen for months and several major property developers are struggling to stay afloat.
On Saturday, on the sidelines of the week-long annual session of the country’s rubber-stamp parliament, officials acknowledged the difficulties of reversing both trends.
Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security, said that overall employment pressure has not been alleviated and structural contradictions still need to be resolved.
“Some workers face some challenges and problems in employment, and more efforts are needed to stabilize employment,” Wang said.
But she said Beijing was “confident in maintaining continued stability in the employment situation.”
Ni Hong, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, told reporters that rectifying the real estate market, which has long accounted for about a quarter of China’s economy, remains a challenge.
“The task of stabilizing the market remains very difficult,” he said, pointing to national efforts to lower interest rates and lower down payments.
Real estate companies “will go bankrupt if they should go bankrupt, and reorganize if they need to be reorganized,” Ni said, adding that “market entities that harm the interests of the masses must be resolutely investigated and punished in accordance with the law.” ”
But despite the real estate market’s deep troubles, he insisted that Beijing’s “bottom line” of avoiding “systemic risks” in the real estate sector was maintained.
This week’s meeting in Beijing will focus on economic and security issues.
On Tuesday, the top leader set an ambitious growth target of around 5% for 2024 – a target that analysts say is ambitious given the headwinds China’s economy faces.
Prime Minister Li Qiang admitted that achieving this goal “will not be easy” given that there are still “lingering risks and hidden dangers” in the economy.
Investors are calling for greater government action to boost the flagging economy.
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