China builds 78 million units of affordable housing in 13 years

China has built more than 78 million compensatory homes of various types across the country since 2008, benefiting more than 200 million people, the country's leading housing official said on Tuesday.

In addition to constructing new public rental housing, affordable rental apartments and homes with shared ownership, the country has also rebuilt many areas in shantytowns to meet the housing demands of low-income families, said Wang Menghui, minister of housing and urban-rural development, in a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office.

He said the country has also made persistent efforts to renovate dilapidated buildings in rural areas to help people previously plagued by poverty.

In total, 7.9 million such buildings have been renovated, he said.