A More Prudent Approach to Destocking



A More Prudent Approach to Destocking

Beijing Youth Daily April 15

At the end of last year, the Central Government put destocking the real estate market at the top of China’s economic agenda this year. In recent months, central and local government departments have come up with policies, such as lowering the proportion of down payments, to encourage the purchase of properties. However, although these measures have worked in first- and second-tier cities, where real estate market demand has experienced a rebound, they are ineffective in third- and fourth-tier cities, where inventory levels remain high.

The difficulty in destocking in third- and fourth-tier cities lies in their inability to draw people, resulting from weak industrial foundations. First-tier cities attract a large number of people owing to more employment opportunities, higher incomes and better public services.

Therefore, destocking in third- and fourth-tier cities is not only about selling properties, but increasing employment opportunities by developing the local economy, in order to attract more people and investment. Meanwhile, household registration reform should be accelerated to give migrant workers and their children wider access to urban public services such as healthcare and education.

If local governments seek to resolve the high inventory levels of the housing market through only administrative and fiscal measures, the problems will not only fail to be solved, but new risks will ensue. Destocking, which depends on the all-round and balanced development of cities, is not a task that can be achieved overnight.

Up-and-coming basketball star Zhou Qi announced on April 15 that he will take part in the NBA draft in June.

If Zhou is picked, he would become the sixth Chinese to ever become an NBA player. The NBA has been without a Chinese player since 2014 when Yi Jianlian returned following a mediocre spell in the league.

Zhou, 20, is 2.17 meters tall. He took part in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea for the Chinese national team. He also participated in the 2015 International Basketball Federation Asia Championship in Changsha, central Hunan Province, helping lead China to a close 76-73 victory over South Korea.

Chinese basketball fans are enthusiastic about Zhou going to the NBA, while his Xinjiang team seems reluctant to let him go, saying the time is not right.