(ECNS) - An industry insider said on Tuesday that a media report regarding China's plan to abolish 70-year property ownership was groundless speculation.
Gu Yunchang, deputy head of the China Real Estate and Housing Research Association, was quoted in the original report as having disclosed the plan. The report also said China will speed up the introduction of a real estate tax.
But Gu told the Beijing Times that he never made the statement and that the report was "unreliable."
China allows 70 years of ownership of land for residential purposes, and generally 50 years for land for industrial purposes.
China has introduced a number of measures in recent years to rein in housing prices, including purchase restrictions and experimenting with property taxes, but with little progress.
