From the Chinese Press

Check housing prices and rentals

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, housing rentals increased 4.4 percent in July, which means rentals have continued to rise for the past 43 months. Although people's incomes have also increased during the period, the rate of increase of rentals in large cities has been much higher, says an article in Procuratorate Daily. Excerpts:

The government plans to double urban and rural residents' incomes by 2020. But given the rising housing prices and rentals in cities, the two-fold increase in incomes may not be of much help to the people. Perhaps the government should take some measures to keep housing prices and rentals in check to help urban as well as rural residents to enjoy the benefits of an increase in their incomes.