If the leaks and rumors are true, Beijing stands ready to launch a new and radical solution to the economy’s property crisis – a government takeover. What the authorities refer to as “a new model” would replace the old emphasis on ownership with more rentals and use government funds to buy up bankrupt properties so that in time the government’s role in real estate would rise from 5% of the market at present to 30%. Such an act would surely take the nation back to its communist roots if not quite the days of Mao Zedong. If it would veil the property crisis for a time, it would in the long run do tremendous damage to China’s economic prospects.
Leaks and rumours?
Isn’t it what they said they would do ages ago?
No but see we can’t trust anything China’s government says it’s going to do even though it has a long and storied history of doing literally exactly what it says it’s going to do because … reasons? I guess? So we can only trust anonymous sources instead.