Quotable

"Stop imagining that China's property market will collapse. There is no possibility of that."

Wang Jianlin, China's second-richest man and president of the developer Wanda Group, adding that the real estate industry had entered a state of "new normal" and would neither boom nor bust in the next year. He said moderate leverage levels, strong government leadership and urbanization potential would prevent a bust.

"Despite being the world's second-largest economy, China is burdened with the heavy task of fighting poverty. Apart from being short of electricity, the rural poor usually have difficulty getting clean drinking water, education and medical care."

Liu Shuwen, of the State Council's Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development. According to his office, 82.5 million rural Chinese lived in poverty at the end of 2013.

Public finance will improve the lives of poor people, and the fund has made an innovative step in the country's poverty relief work."

Hu Jinglin, vice-minister of finance, speaking at the launch ceremony for China's first industry fund for poverty-stricken areas. The fund was founded by the Ministry of Finance, China National Tobacco Corp and the State Development and Investment Corp. It is the first such fund with government backing, an important move for innovative poverty relief and fiscal investment, the founders said. The initial capital of the fund is 2.8 billion yuan ($457 million; 362 million euros).

(China Daily European Weekly 12/19/2014 page3)