Former Premier Stirs China Property Policy Debate as Prices Rise

Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji’s recent criticism of the country’s property policy underscores the debate over the extent to which rising real estate prices are benefiting the country as a whole.

Zhu, who served as premier from 1998 to 2003, said in a speech at Beijing’s Tsinghua University that a decision to allow local governments to pocket money from land sales contributed to rising property prices and has been like “plundering” from the people. The remarks are spurring discussion in China because they reflect people’s dissatisfaction, said Joseph Cheng, a political-science professor at the City University of Hong Kong.