Rental housing to get more focus

China will press ahead with the development of a long-term rental market and implement more measures to stabilize housing prices, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Wang Menghui said on Monday.

"The property market has remained stable, as the price rise has effectively slowed down and the market expectations show positive signs ahead," he said on the sidelines of the ongoing 13th National People's Congress.

"China will continue its efforts to build an effective price control mechanism to ensure the healthy development of the real estate market," Wang said. "We will encourage the rental market and speed up the transformation of shanty towns."