Beijing launches guideline to increase supply of quality homes

The authority in Beijing has recently rolled out a guideline to improve the housing quality and meet the increasingly diverse residential living needs of the people.

The listed measures are set to satisfy the diverse needs of home buyers in suburbs of Beijing, covering balconies decoration, double-height space setting up, ground floor utilization, public facilities and building heights.

These new rules provided developers with more possibilities in terms of space development and design and more cost-effective choices for home buyers.

The innovative use of the ground floor space in residential buildings stands out among all these measures. The ground floor space could be designed as a public area dedicated to fitness and parent-child activities, aimed at improving the convenience for residents in the community, especially for children and the elders.

"By utilizing the ground floor space, shared neighborhood public areas can be established, including rain shelters, areas for children and seniors to engage in activities, as well as facilities for fitness, reading, relaxation, socializing, parcel delivery, and retail, in order to create a more diverse living environment," said Yang Jun, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources.

The guideline suggests the area of balconies and decorative finishes not be included in the floor area ratio, thereby moderately increasing the "usable floor area ratio", a reference factor indicating the actual usable area of a housing unit.

The document also introduces flexible control of building height in a residential community.

The guideline will be piloted in areas such as Shunyi, Daxing, Yizhuang, Changping, and Fangshan. It will serve as a reference for Tongzhou District (the sub-center of Beijing) in implementation.

Beijing launches guideline to increase supply of quality homes

The one-China principle is where the arc of history bends and public opinion trends, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday, in commenting on Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te's planned visit to Eswatini, which had to be canceled after relevant African countries revoked the necessary flight permissions.

"All African countries, with the sole exception of Eswatini, have established diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China. These 53 countries together with the African Union have adopted the Beijing Declaration at the 2024 FOCAC Summit. They have reiterated on many occasions that they firmly uphold the one-China principle, that there is but one China in the world, that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, that the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and that they firmly support all efforts by the Chinese government to achieve national reunification," said Guo Jiakun, the spokesman, at a press conference in Beijing.

"China highly commends the relevant countries' commitment to the one-China principle which is fully consistent with international law and basic norms governing international relations," he said.

"It's very clear that there's no longer a so-called 'Republic of China president' in the world anymore. Anyone who wears that false title is acting against history and will only invite disgrace upon themselves. The one-China principle is where the arc of history bends and public opinion trends, and to uphold it is a right thing to do. No one can ever stop the eventual reunification of China. The separatist attempts aimed at Taiwan secession are just futile and are doomed to fail," said the spokesman.

One-China principle is where arc of history bends, public opinion trends: spokesman