Top‐Level Plan for High‐Quality Urban Development Issued with Key Real Estate Focus

China has unveiled its top‐level blueprint for high‐quality urban development. On August 28, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council jointly released the “Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Urban Development,” outlining a strategic vision that covers integrated city clusters, metropolitan area construction, and strengthening the comprehensive competitiveness of major cities.

The document contains multiple provisions directly affecting the real estate sector, including unlocking the potential of existing urban assets, advancing the construction of “quality housing,” renovating urban villages and dilapidated buildings, and establishing housing safety inspection systems. Experts note that these measures will provide positive guidance for the next phase of city growth and the emergence of new real estate models.

Emphasizing that cities are essential platforms for modernization and vital spaces for people’s well-being, the “Opinions” signal a shift from large-scale expansion to a focus on improving the quality and efficiency of existing urban stock. This transition echoes the direction set at the Central Urban Work Conference on July 15, which recognized that China’s urbanization is entering a stable development phase and that enhancing the value of current assets has become the core task.

For long-term goals, the document calls for significant progress in building modern, people-centered cities by 2030, with fully refined policies, accelerated transformation of growth drivers, higher living standards, deepened green transition, robust safety foundations, enriched cultural appeal, and substantially improved governance. By 2035, the vision anticipates the basic completion of modernization in China’s cities.

On real estate specifics, the “Opinions” require a comprehensive inventory of urban assets—housing, infrastructure, and land—and call for repurposing old factories, underused buildings, and idle commercial facilities. A planning adjustment mechanism will be established to support functional conversions and mixed-use developments. The document also urges optimized policies for consolidating, integrating, exchanging, and registering land rights to reactivate low-efficiency plots.

Revitalizing idle land has been a central government priority since last year. In June 2024, the Ministry of Natural Resources, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, issued 18 policy measures to address challenges in utilizing, transferring, and reclaiming idle land. A State Council meeting in June 2025 further mandated a nationwide review of allocated land and ongoing projects to refine existing policies, stabilize market expectations, stimulate demand, optimize supply, and mitigate risks.

Local authorities have accelerated the acquisition and storage of idle land. According to China Index Academy, by August 18, over 4,300 parcels of idle land had been earmarked for purchase using special-purpose bonds, covering more than 220 million square meters with total financing exceeding RMB 550 billion. Industry experts suggest that a comprehensive survey of land and projects will improve supporting policies and speed up special bond issuances—particularly if non-pilot regions join the initiative—thereby boosting market confidence.

A second major real estate emphasis is on elevating housing quality and urban village redevelopment. The “Opinions” call for a new real estate development paradigm that better meets both essential and diversified housing needs. The entire housing lifecycle—from design and construction to maintenance and services—must be upgraded to deliver safe, comfortable, green, and intelligent dwellings. The document also supports steady progress on urban village renewal and the autonomous renovation or original-site reconstruction of aging housing.

Since the introduction of the Residential Project Code earlier this year, industry consensus has solidified around building high-quality, smart, and sustainable homes. Crucially, existing housing stock must also be improved through renovation or reconstruction to enhance safety and liveability. Autonomous upgrades and “original demolition and rebuild”—where old dwellings are cleared and reconstructed on the same footprint with government subsidy—have risen in prevalence. In June, Shanghai’s Jing’an District completed the relocation phase of the Pengyi Community project, the city’s largest and most complex non-standard housing redevelopment. Similar successes have been reported in Nanchang and other cities.

Urban renewal, including demolition and rebuild strategies, is expected to remain a focal point. A previous central directive on urban renewal called for shifting development methods and fostering resilient, livable, and intelligent cities.

The third real estate‐related highlight concerns building and municipal infrastructure safety. The “Opinions” propose a comprehensive lifecycle safety management system encompassing regular housing inspections, dedicated safety funds, and quality insurance. The document also calls for stricter controls on super high-rise construction, enhanced high-altitude firefighting capabilities, retrofits for prefabricated and earthquake-prone housing, and stronger oversight of overcrowded rental units.

Housing inspection policies have gained momentum since the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development announced plans last year to research systems for housing checkups, pensions, and insurance. Pilot programs are underway in 22 cities, including Shanghai, to establish long-term housing safety frameworks.

Experts stress that regular inspections, maintenance, and planned retirement for aging housing stock are imperative as residential buildings age. One estimate suggests a national housing inspection initiative could create a market worth nearly RMB 100 billion.

Yan Yuejin, Deputy Director of the Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Institute, notes that the “Opinions” refine the Central Urban Work Conference directives by clarifying urban functional roles and addressing asset activation, urban renewal, and dilapidated housing. The document makes clear that the future of China’s cities will be defined by innovation, livability, beauty, resilience, civility, and intelligence, offering robust guidance for the next stage of urban transformation