(Yicai Global) Aug. 25 -- China's leading real estate developer, China Vanke Co. [SHE:000002], held its first semi-annual earnings release conference since its new board chairman took the helm.

"We're big supporters of the macro-level regulation policy, and totally agree that solving housing difficulties for ordinary people is at the core of real estate development," the new chairman, Yu Liang, said at the meeting.

Using various methods to cool off the property market is necessary, he said. Shenzhen and Shanghai have rolled out policies to boost the development of local housing rental markets. "The goal of developing a market-based housing industry is to provide housing for regular people, rather than stimulate economic growth."

Vanke has been working on long-term rental apartment projects, and about 20,000 of its apartments are currently open, he said. That number will grow to 30,000 by this year's end, and another 150,000 will be opened next year. Vanke is set to become a major provider of long leasehold apartments.

"However, we don't need to cut back on our core businesses," said Yu. China's real estate market is different now, and local markets in third- and fourth-tier cities near core cities -- Yanjiao and Langfang in the Greater Beijing Area, for example -- have become increasingly important. "I call it the second phase of urbanization," he said.

Vanke is pursuing other new businesses, including property management and logistics, elder-care, education and urban rail property development, he said.

The firm's property sales rose 45.8 percent to USD41.59 billion (CNY277.2 billion) in the first half. Another developer, Country Garden Holdings Co. [HKG:2007], trumped Vanke and posted sales revenue of USD43.34 billion in the same period, marking a 131-percent increase.