China's real estate market still in adjustment in Q1: official

China's real estate market was still in a state of adjustment in the first quarter of this year, with policies aimed at supporting the sector's development continuing to take effect, Sheng Laiyun, deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), told a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

Investment in property development fell 9.5 percent year on year in the first quarter, according to the NBS.

Sheng said that the floor space of newly-built commercial buildings sold reached approximately 138 million square meters in March, marking the highest monthly figure over the past year.

"Since the beginning of this year, local governments have intensified their efforts to implement policies that support the stable development of the real estate sector, including easing restrictions on property purchases and reducing loan interest rates on housing provident funds. Since the beginning of this year, more than 30 cities have proposed the policy of trade-ins of old houses for new ones. With the joint efforts of various local governments, in March this year, the decline in the floor space and value of real estate sold narrowed by 1.1 and 1.7 percentage points compared with January and February, respectively. Data from these three aspects showed that the effects of measures to support stability of the property sector continued to be felt," he said.

Sheng said that the country's continuous urbanization process would underpin the real estate market.

"With the improvement of people's living standards and the deepening of urbanization, there will be strong demand for buying their first home or improving their housing situation in the Chinese real estate market. The country's property market still has the conditions to sustain healthy and continuous development. We need to take a more rational view on adjustments for real estate," he said.

China's real estate market still in adjustment in Q1: official

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of Argentina Diana Mondino on Tuesday in Beijing.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that China is willing to take the opportunity of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of China-Argentina comprehensive strategic partnership this year, to jointly grasp the direction of bilateral relations, inject more certainty into the two sides' cooperation in various fields, and open up new prospects for the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

The two sides should continue to cherish and consolidate political mutual trust, understand and support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns, and advance cooperation, he said.

China is willing to work with Argentina and other Latin American and Caribbean countries to promote the building of China-Latin America relations in the new era featuring equality, mutual benefit, innovation and openness which will benefit the people, strengthen coordination and cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations and G20, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries, Wang said.

Mondino noted that no matter how Argentina's internal political situation changes, its friendly policy toward China will not change. Argentina is willing to deepen cooperation with China under the framework of the CELAC-China Forum, keep close communication and coordination within multilateral mechanisms, and safeguard world peace and promote sustainable development, Mondino said.

Top Chinese diplomat holds talks with Argentina's foreign minister