China is seeking to speed up the completion of two million new public rental apartments in 2017, according to China’s housing authority announced.

Lu Kehua, vice minister of Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD), said they would work with National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Finance, to increase support for constructing new public rental apartments with the aim of completing their plans by the end of this year.

China’s central authorities also strengthened the subsidies and financing support to promote public rental housing in recent years.

By the end of 2016, 11.66 million households officially lived in public rental apartments.

Lu Kehua said MOHURD in 2011 pointed out that public rental apartments should be targeted towards the needs of urban low-income families with housing difficulties, new employees with no houses, and migrant workers with stable employment.

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