Recently, the central and local governments at all levels have voiced their voices one after another, adjusted and optimized real estate policies in a timely manner, and made good use of the policy toolbox to better meet the rigid and improved housing needs of residents.

　　A few days ago, Zhengzhou issued the "Notice on Further Promoting the Stable and Healthy Development of the Real Estate Market in Our City", proposing 15 optimization policies, such as canceling the sales restriction and implementing "recognizing the house but not the loan".

　　The insiders believe that stabilizing the construction industry and the real estate industry plays an important role in promoting the economic recovery. Previously, some adjustment policies proposed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the People’s Bank of China will accelerate, and the real estate market is expected to usher in a steady development trend.

　　On August 4th, the National Development and Reform Commission and other four departments held a press conference with the theme of "laying a good combination of macro policies and promoting high-quality economic development". Yuan Da, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Development and Reform Commission and Director of the Comprehensive Department, said that policies and measures such as promoting the renovation of urban villages in mega-cities and the construction of "flat and emergency dual-use" public infrastructure, and orderly expanding the issuance scale of real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the infrastructure sector have been introduced and implemented one after another, and other policies are also being pushed forward, providing strong policy support for sustained economic recovery.

　　"Strengthen policy reserves in better meeting the rigid and improved housing needs of residents and actively expanding effective investment, and continuously release the potential of ultra-large-scale market." Yuan Da said.

　　Zou Lan, director of the Monetary Policy Department of the People’s Bank of China, said that he would continue to support the smooth operation of the real estate market, and reiterated that he would continue to implement the loan support plan for Baojiaolou until the end of May 2024, and steadily push forward the rental housing loan support plan in pilot cities. At the same time, guide banks to adjust the interest rate of existing individual housing loans in an orderly manner according to law.

　　It is worth mentioning that this is not the first time that the People’s Bank of China has proposed to adjust the "stock mortgage interest rate". On July 14th, at the press conference of financial statistics for the first half of 2023 held by the State Council Office, Zou Lan said that the interest rate of existing mortgage loans issued in previous years in China was still at a relatively high level. "Next, in accordance with the principles of marketization and rule of law, the People’s Bank of China supports and encourages commercial banks and borrowers to negotiate independently to change the contractual agreement, or to issue new loans to replace the original stock loans."

　　Subsequently, on August 1st, the People’s Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange also explicitly proposed in the working meeting in the second half of 2023 that the differentiated housing credit policy should be accurately implemented due to the city’s policy, and the interest rate and down payment ratio of individual housing loans should continue to decline to better meet the rigid and improved housing needs of residents. Guide commercial banks to adjust the interest rate of existing individual housing loans in an orderly manner according to law.

　　Zhang Bo, president of 58 Anjuke Research Institute, said that at present, the downward direction of the interest rate of existing individual housing loans has been made clear, which is an important measure to reduce the demand-side cost of buying houses. On the one hand, adjusting the interest rate of stock mortgage can reduce the economic burden of the people who have bought houses, and play a certain role in promoting their living expenses. On the other hand, it can also reduce the phenomenon of early repayment of loans, which is conducive to the stability of high-quality mortgage assets of banks.

　　In fact, in addition to the frequent statements of the financial sector, the housing and construction sector has also made a clear statement. Ni Hong, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, pointed out at a recent enterprise symposium that it is necessary to continue to consolidate the trend of stabilization and recovery of the real estate market, vigorously support the demand for rigid and improved housing, and further implement policies and measures such as reducing the down payment ratio and loan interest rate for the first home purchase, reducing taxes and fees for the purchase of improved housing, and "recognizing housing without repaying loans" for individual housing loans.

　　Among these policies, the policy of "recognizing the house without recognizing the loan" has received great attention. Li Yujia, chief researcher of the Housing Policy Research Center of the Guangdong Provincial Urban Planning Institute, said that "there is no need to recognize a house" means that when determining the loan ratio, commercial banks do not look at the previous loan records, but only determine whether there is a house under the family name. This means that the "sell one, buy one" improved home buyers will enjoy the treatment of the first home purchase.

　　Policies such as "recognizing the house without recognizing the loan" are expected to usher in more breakthroughs in the second half of the year. On August 3, Zhengzhou announced the implementation of the policy of "recognizing houses but not loans", which is considered to have a strong demonstration significance. First-tier cities such as North, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have also indicated that they will pay close attention to the implementation work in conjunction with relevant departments in light of the actual situation of the local real estate market, vigorously support and better meet the rigid and improved housing needs of residents, and promote the stable and healthy development of the real estate market.

　　The picture shows the Secretary-General of the China-Japan-ROK Cooperation Secretariat.

　　[Editor’s Note] On December 24th, the China-Japan-ROK Leaders’ Meeting will be held in Chengdu, China. This year coincides with the 20th anniversary of China-Japan-ROK cooperation. Over the past 20 years, with the joint efforts of the governments and people of the three countries, the cooperation among the three countries has gradually deepened and expanded, with remarkable results. A few days ago, Shang Shi Dao, Secretary-General of the trilateral cooperation secretariat of China, Japan and South Korea, accepted an exclusive interview with People’s Daily and introduced the cooperation between China, Japan and South Korea.

　　People’s Daily Online: The 8th China-Japan-ROK Leaders’ Meeting will be held on December 24th. This year coincides with the 20th anniversary of China-Japan-ROK cooperation. How do you evaluate the important achievements and experiences of China-Japan-ROK cooperation?

　　Respect history on the road: China, Japan and South Korea have made great progress in cooperation between the government and the private sector. Intergovernmental cooperation is very active. Besides the upcoming leaders’ summit, there are 21 ministerial meetings. From the end of November to the end of the year, there will be six ministerial meetings (environment, patents, disaster management, health care, science and technology) and many practical communication meetings in five weeks. Every time I attend the meeting, I really feel that the pragmatic needs of cooperation among the three countries in various fields are quite large and beneficial to all three countries.

　　Non-governmental cooperation and exchanges in culture, education, media, universities, local governments and other fields are also increasing. I think the increase of these personnel exchanges has greatly promoted the mutual understanding and understanding between the nationals of the three countries. As the secretariat of trilateral cooperation, we not only promote intergovernmental cooperation, but also actively help promote non-governmental cooperation in different fields. We also feel that it is meaningful to do so.

　　People’s Daily Online: China, Japan and South Korea are major economies in Asia. In the current international situation where unilateralism and trade protectionism are on the rise, how do you evaluate the significance of strengthening cooperation between China, Japan and South Korea?

　　History on the Road: It was repeatedly mentioned in the statement of the last leaders’ meeting that China, Japan and South Korea reached a consensus on strengthening the importance of a free and open multilateral trading system. The three countries have always indicated that they will make joint efforts in building an open world economic system in response to the current rise of protectionism. However, this is not a problem that can be solved by East Asian cooperation alone, but requires full consultation with other regions such as North America and Europe, so that trade and investment can develop in the right direction.

　　People’s Daily Online: The "China, Japan and Korea +X" model gathers the experience and wisdom of the three countries, gives full play to their respective advantages, and actively promotes regional development. According to your observation, what early gains have been made by this model? How to effectively promote the further implementation of this model?

　　The discussion on "China, Japan and South Korea +X" cooperation model is still in the initial stage, but there are several examples. As one of the results of the "+X" cooperation model, the secretariat proposed to hold the "Northeast Asia Forum on Developing Disaster Reduction Technology". The participants in the forum are not only China, South Korea and Japan, but also Mongolia, the Philippines and Indonesia. China has also put forward projects such as joint research on sandstorms and prevention of tropical diseases.

　　I attended the 22nd ASEAN +3 Leaders Summit held on November 4th last year. The leaders of ASEAN countries have made many demands on China, Japan and South Korea for cooperation in environment, disaster prevention, economy and trade, small and medium-sized enterprises and other fields, which is impressive. Promoting cooperation among the three countries is our priority. Although it should be promoted on the basis of the wishes of the three countries, I think cooperation at the "+X" level is also feasible in the future.

　　People’s Daily Online: As far as you are concerned, what do you want to do to further promote the cooperation process among China, Japan and South Korea?

　　History on the Road: I personally have working experience in South Korea and China, and know many scholars, entrepreneurs and media people. Using this network, we can develop exchange and cooperation projects and hold activities in many fields in the future, and I also want to improve the visibility of our secretariat. At the same time, I have done a lot of writing and speaking during my stay in Korea and China, and I will take an active part in this time if I have the chance.