BEIJING, (Reuters) – Hangzhou in China’s east, a city known for high living costs, pledged that it would allocate 10% annually for affordable housing. This joins Guangzhou and Shenzhen, which are aiming to respond to rising population growth.

China is stepping up its efforts to solve housing problems faced by youth, especially in light of skyrocketing home prices. This was under President Xi Jinping’s “common prosperity” banner.

China’s State Council or cabinet in July stated that large cities will have more rental property in 2021-2025 because of their net population inflows.

According to the plan posted on Tuesday by the local government, Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang’s wealthy province, will offer 330,000 affordable rentals homes between 2021 and 2025.

Hangzhou is home to around 12,000,000 people. The average annual average for property prices in Hangzhou was around 27,000 yuan (4,221) per square meter. That’s nearly double what the average nationwide price of 14,000 yuan. According to China’s Statistical Bureau.

China’s largest province Guangdong declared last week that its two most populous metropolises Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou must allot at least 10% of their land to rental housing. These were among the first Chinese cities in this regard.

China’s top-ranking decision-making body announced that last month it would implement a pilot tax on real estate in certain areas, in part to control rising home prices.

Xi’s promise to lower social inequality to attain “common wealth” has placed low-income individuals and families at the heart of Beijing’s policymaking.

($1 = 6.3960 renminbi)