An aerial photo of the city in Shanghai. Prices for new homes in China’s major cities fell by 4.3% in May compared with a year earlier. Photograph: Shutterstock
Retail sales grew faster than expected, boosted by a five-day public holiday in May, up 3.7 per cent compared to a year ago and up from 2.3 per cent in April. Tourism revenue was up 12.7 per cent compared to last year’s May holiday and was 13.5 per cent higher than in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.
“However, we should be aware that the external environment is complex and severe, effective demands remain insufficient at home, and a sustained economic recovery is still confronted with multiple difficulties and challenges.” The Chinese authorities introduced a number of measures in recent months aimed at reviving the property market, including the abolition of minimum interest rates on mortgages. The most ambitious measure was last month’s 300 billion yuan re-lending programme that provided banks with funds from the People’s Bank of China to help state-owned companies buy property.