‘CHINA NEEDS TO DO MORE’

Officials acknowledge difficulties in tackling property sector, unemployment crises

CHINA needs to do more to boost employment and stabilise its property market, top officials acknowledged on Saturday, as policymakers struggle to revive the country’s battered economy.

Beijing is grappling with a prolonged property sector crisis, record youth unemployment and a global slowdown hammering demand for Chinese goods.

Youth unemployment hit an unprecedented 21.3 per cent in mid-2023, before officials paused publishing monthly figures.

Home prices have in turn fallen for months, with several major property developers struggling to stay afloat.

And on the sidelines of an annual meeting of the country’s rubber-stamp Parliament on Saturday, officials acknowledged the difficulties in reversing both trends.

“Overall employment pressure has not lessened, and there are still structural contradictions to be solved,” Human Resources and Social Security Minister Wang Xiaoping said.

“A portion of workers face some challenges and problems in employment, and more effort needs to be made to stabilise employment.”

But she said Beijing is “confident about maintaining the continued stability of the employment situation”.

Housing Minister Ni Hong, in turn, told reporters that fixing the property market — which long accounted for around a quarter of China’s economy — remained a challenge.

“The task of stabilising the market is still very difficult,” he said, pointing to state efforts to reduce interest rates and lower down payments.

Real estate companies that “need to go bankrupt should go bankrupt, and those that need restructuring should be restructured”, Ni said, adding that market players who “harm the interests of the masses should be resolutely investigated and dealt with according to the law”.

Despite the deep trouble with the housing market, he insisted that Beijing’s “bottom line” of avoiding “systemic risks” in the property sector had been maintained.

Meetings last week have been dominated by the economy and security.

On Tuesday, top leaders set an ambitious growth target of around five per cent for 2024 — a goal analysts said was ambitious given the headwinds buttressing the Chinese economy.

Investors have called for much greater action from the state to shore up the flagging economy.

Overall employment pressure has not lessened, and there are still structural contradictions to be solved. WANG XIAOPING Human resources and social security minister

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