Full transcript of policy briefing of the State Council on Jan 16, 2015

Zhu Zhixin:

The development of China emphasizes the balance among different areas. We have realized the development in coastal areas, and are putting more effort into the development of the western regions. Our regional development policy focuses on four areas: the northeastern, eastern, central and western regions. We recently raised three strategic priorities, including the "One Belt and One Road", the joint development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, and the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Xinjiang is an important area to implement the "One Belt and One Road" strategy. It is fair to say that it used to lag behind the overall development of the nation. I think that with the implementation of the "One Belt and One Road" strategy, it has the potential to become a frontier of China's opening up. It will play an important role in the development of the region as well as the coordinated development of the entire nation.

In that process, we have put in much effort to support the border areas and the areas of ethnic minorities. I think, along the way, the support to Xinjiang well be continuously increased. This is the answer to your first question.

Zhu Zhixin:

The second question touched upon real estate. Amid China's economic development, I think the development of real estate has played an important role in driving the economy. Based on my rough calculation, real estate investment accounted for one fifth of the entire investment, infrastructure about 16 percent, manufacturing about 35 percent. In fact, about 70 percent of all investment went to the three parts.

This year, the growth of the real estate market is slowing compared with previous years. It is a phase of adjustment. We should pay close attention to the downward trend and the differentiation in the housing price.

But I also do not agree with the saying that "a crisis is emerging". While meeting people's growing material and cultural needs, which include the traditional basic necessities of demand, I think there is a huge space in satisfying people's housing needs. There are five levels of needs — the need to survive, the need to improve, the need to enjoy life, as well as the needs to invest and speculate.

The focus at the moment is on the transition from the need to survive to the need to improve and better enjoy life. Meanwhile, we need to take other needs into consideration. Of course, we've long been taking necessary suppression measures regarding speculative investments. In short, we aim to satisfy the housing needs of the people.

I think it is normal to see ups and downs and various problems in the development of the real estate market. In that process, we need to accurately judge its trends and take appropriate measures. I believe it is our common expectation. Thank you.