At the end of 2006, the average house price in Beijing was 9,267 yuan per square meter; this June it increased to 10,280 yuan per square meter. Housing prices in Guangzhou and Shenzhen have now risen to over 11,000 yuan per square meter. These hikes can be seen across China, and show that housing prices have not yet been taken under control by the central government's assorted price-harnessing measures.

Yi Xianrong, a scholar with Chinese Academy of Social Sciences points out that houses are not only consumables but also an investment in China. Therefore, every governmental department and local government inclines to make their own house price policies in favor of their own needs, he reveals. These policies are issued by different governmental departments; however, they are not compatible with one another and often counteract the effects of the central government's measures, leaving house prices soaring, says Cao Ruhai, a teacher with Central University of Finance and Economics.

For more details, please read the full story in Chinese. (http://paper.people.com.cn/scb/html/2007-07/18/content_13420328.htm)

(China.org.cn July 18 2007)