Chinese property prices rose at a slower pace in June as government efforts to prevent a real estate bubble weighed on the market.

　　中国房价在6月份以较慢速度上涨。意在阻止房地产泡沫的各项政府措施对市场形成下行压力。

　　Housing prices in 70 big cities rose 0.1 percent from a month earlier, down from 0.2 per cent in May and the smallest monthly increase this year, according to a population-weighted average of data published by China’s national statistics bureau.

　　根据中国国家统计局(NBS)发布的人口加权平均数据，6月份全国70个大中城市的房价环比上涨0.1%，低于5月份的0.2%，是今年最小的月度涨幅。

　　Nationwide property prices rose 4.2 per cent year-on-year, well below June’s 6.4 percent annual increase in consumer price inflation, another indication that the Chinese housing market has started to come off the boil.

　　6月份全国房价同比上涨4.2%，远低于该月6.4%的居民消费价格(CPI)涨幅，这是显示中国房产市场已开始从沸点降温的又一个信号。

　　Since early last year, the government has unveiled a succession of policies to rein in property prices. It has increased mandatory downpayments, raised mortgage rates and made it harder for people to buy more than one home.

　　自去年上半年以来，中国政府出台了一系列政策以求遏制房价。政府提高了首付比例，上调了抵押贷款利率，还增加了人们购买一套以上住房的难度。

　　Despite the government’s tentative success, many economists still view the potential for a property bubble as one of the biggest risks facing China. It is seen as a threat to the sustainability of the nation’s growth model and to social stability because of simmering discontent about the lack of affordable housing.

　　尽管政府的努力取得初步成功，但许多经济学家仍把房产泡沫的可能性视为中国面临的最大风险之一。各方认为，房产泡沫将威胁到中国增长模式的可持续性和中国的社会稳定，原因是缺乏价格适宜的住房导致人们的不满升温。

　　Last week, the cabinet vowed to extend restrictions in a meeting chaired by Wen Jiabao, the premier, amid fears that the effects of tightening policies were beginning to wear off in some parts of the country.

　　上周，中国总理温家宝主持召开国务院常务会议，会议决定继续实施各项调控政策。目前人们担心，政策收紧的效应在一些地区开始逐渐消失。

　　Mr Wen singled out rising price pressures in “second- and third-tier cities”, a category that refers to cities with populations of between 1m to 10m, and ordered local officials to do a better job of containing property inflation.

　　温家宝特别指出，“二三线城市”（人口在100万至1000万之间的城市）的房价上涨压力正在加大，并责令地方官员从严把握和执行房价控制目标。

　　In cities where prices were rising too quickly, the cabinet said that limits should be placed on the number of homes that people can buy.

　　国务院表示，在房价上涨过快的城市要采取限购措施。

　　The data on Monday also illustrated the divergence in market trends. In the largest cities, where policy restrictions have been most consistently applied, property prices rose slowly. Prices in Beijing and Shanghai were up just 2.2 per cent from a year earlier.

　　周一发布的数据也展示了市场趋势的分化。在政策限制执行最坚定的大城市，房价上涨缓慢。北京和上海的房价同比仅上涨2.2%。

　　But in a number of smaller cities where local governments have wavered in their tightening efforts, property inflation was more serious. Urumqi, capital of the far-western Xinjiang region, led the pack with housing prices up 9.2 per cent from a year earlier.

　　但在地方政府调控力度有所放松的不少较小城市，房价上涨比较严重。最突出的是新疆首府乌鲁木齐，该市房价同比上涨9.2%。

　　Vastly expanding the -supply of affordable housing has become an essential part of the government’s campaign to avert a property bubble and address popular anger.

　　大举增加保障性住房的供应，在政府避免房产泡沫和化解公众愤怒的努力中已成为不可或缺的一环。

　　After stuttering efforts earlier on because of inadequate funding, Mr Wen said last week that China was halfway to achieving its goal of starting construction on 10m units of affordable housing this year.

　　在今年早些时候因资金不足而进展不顺利之后，温家宝上周表示，今年全年新开工建设1000万套保障性住房的目标已完成了一半。