BEIJING — China will implement multiple supportive policies to increase sufficient supply of rental housing, amid efforts to foster the growth of the market.

The country will speed up the improvement of the housing security system and housing market system, and solve the housing problem for low- and middle-income urban residents, Wang Menghui, minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, told a news conference on Sept 27.

Large- and medium-sized cities with a large inflow of population and high housing prices will be encouraged to develop shared ownership housing based on local conditions, said Wang.

The promotion came after co-ownership housing projects were successfully piloted in Beijing and Shanghai, according to the minister.

"Through decades of hard work, China, with a population of nearly 1.4 billion, has basically solved the housing problem of urban and rural residents," Wang said.

The per capita housing construction area of urban residents increased from 8.3 square meters in 1949 to 39 square meters in 2018, while in rural areas the per capita housing construction area increased to 47.3 square meters, official data showed.

More than 80 million units of government-subsidized housing have been built, lifting over 200 million people out of their housing problems, which forms the world's largest housing security system, said Wang.