Home prices in China's first-tier cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, increased last month compared with March, while second- and third-tier cities reported narrowed price declines or unchanged price levels, official data showed Monday.
New home prices in the four first-tier cities edged up 0.1 percent month-on-month in April, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Specifically, Shanghai saw an increase of 0.4 percent, while Guangzhou and Shenzhen increased by 0.1 percent each. Conversely, Beijing experienced a decline of 0.2 percent.
Second-tier cities saw a smaller price slip of 0.1 percent, while prices in third-tier cities dropped 0.3 percent, the same level of decline as the previous month.
Similar trends were seen in the resale housing market, the data showed.
In April, month-on-month resale housing prices in first-tier cities rose by 0.4 percent, the same growth rate as in March. Specifically, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen saw rises of 0.4 percent, 0.7 percent, 0.2 percent, and 0.3 percent, respectively.
In second- and third-tier cities, resale housing prices fell by 0.2 percent in April, maintaining the same rate of decline as the previous month. In third-tier cities, resale housing prices decreased by 0.3 percent month on month, with the rate of decline narrowing by 0.1 percentage points from the previous month.
The NBS monthly report tracks residential property prices in 70 major Chinese cities, comprising the four first-tier cities, 31 second-tier cities, and 35 third-tier cities.
A total of 21 of the 70 cities recorded month-on-month increases or unchanged prices in the new home market, five more than in March. The figure in the resale market was 16, down by one from the previous month.
On a yearly basis, sales prices across all city tiers generally declined. However, the first-tier cities saw a narrowing of price drops in both new and resale home markets. Most other major cities reported narrower or unchanged declines, although third-tier cities saw slightly faster declines in new home prices.
China's first-tier cities report housing price rise in April
The 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting will be held from May 22-23 in Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, with preliminary consultations and seminars kicking off on Monday.
Multiple consultations have commenced, including discussions on the joint statement to be issued at the meeting and ways to promote cooperation in digital trade.
Additionally, the "Big Market for All: Export to China" Suzhou special event and the Suzhou products promotion event opened Monday.
Experts emphasized that the minister's meeting will play a timely role in advancing regional economic integration and tackling emerging trade challenges through deeper cooperation in digital and green sectors.
"APEC is the highest-level and most influential economic cooperation mechanism in the Asia-Pacific region. On the 20th anniversary of the vision for a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), the 2026 Suzhou APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting will play a positive role in safeguarding the multilateral trading system, stabilizing Asia-Pacific cooperation, and leading global open development, countering the increasingly intensifying wave of trade protectionism," said Yuan Qian, deputy director of the trade and investment research division of the Institute of World Economics and Politics, which is under the administration of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
"At the same time, as a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation accelerates, this meeting takes cooperation in emerging areas such as digital and green as important content, better aligning with the trend of global technological innovation and development, countering global economic growth pressures, and opening up new spaces for regional cooperation and development," the expert added.
Terms such as digital economy, electronic bills of lading, and green supply chains appear frequently in the agenda of the APEC trade ministers' meeting.
"Although electronic bills of lading may seem small, their impact on international trade is very critical. They can improve customs clearance efficiency and reduce customs clearance costs. If promoted, it will not only affect these developed economies and large traders, but more importantly, it will significantly enhance the ability of some small and medium-sized economies and some developing countries to participate in international trade and improve their trade efficiency," said Zhou Mi, deputy director of the Institute of American and Oceania, Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, which is under the administration of the Ministry of Commerce.
This year, a key topic of the meeting is the digital economy.
"In the past, people thought the digital economy was an option; now it has become a must. Because having advantages in digital economy development means having greater advantages in international trade. They (member economies) have seen some of China's practices and approaches in the digital economy field and hope to use such a platform to further improve their own technology and strengthen coordination with China," said Zhou.
Founded in 1989, the APEC is the highest-level, broadest and most influential economic cooperation mechanism in the Asia-Pacific region. About 700 representatives from 21 APEC economies and international organizations will gather in Jiangsu for the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting.
Preliminary consultations begin for APEC trade ministers' meeting
