BEIJING, Sept. 13 -- China has accelerated the construction of government-subsidized rental housing projects since the start of the year to solve housing difficulties for new citizens and young people, according to the country's top housing department Wednesday.

A total of 72 percent of 2.04 million units of government-subsidized rental housing, proposed to be built in 2023, have been constructed across the country, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said.

In the past two years, China has built around 5.08 million units of such housing, with total investments worth more than 520 billion yuan (about 72.33 billion U.S. dollars). The ministry said the measure could solve housing difficulties for nearly 15 million new citizens and young people.

In the future, the country will take multiple measures to expand the supply of such housing, including encouraging local governments to build affordable rental housing in industrial parks and around rail transit stations, the ministry said.