The decline in the prices of commercial residential homes in China's 70 large and medium-sized cities stabilized on a month-on-month basis in September, according to official data released on Friday.
In the country's first-tier cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, new home prices edged down by 0.5 percent, compared with a 0.3-percent drop in the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Second- and third-tier cities both registered declines of 0.7 percent month on month, with the former matching the decline from the previous month, while the latter improved from a 0.8-percent drop in August.
In September, prices of resale homes in first-tier cities fell by 1.2 percent month on month, with the decline widening by 0.3 percentage point compared to the previous month, the NBS said.
In the second- and the third-tier cities, resale home prices both fell by 0.9 percent month on month. In second-tier cities, the decline narrowed by 0.1 percentage point compared to the previous month, while in third-tier cities, the decline remained unchanged from the prior month.
China's home price decline stabilizes month on month in September: official data
The leaders of the European Union (EU) member states failed to reach a new consensus on the Ukraine crisis due to sharp divides during Thursday's summit in Brussels, Belgium. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also attended the meeting and presented his strategy, which he refers to as his "victory plan", in front of the EU leaders. He argued that there are only two paths to resolving the ongoing conflict with Russia - restoring Ukraine's nuclear deterrent or allowing Ukraine to join NATO unconditionally. Between these options, Ukraine prefers NATO membership.
Reports from European media outlets, citing sources, revealed that the EU leaders did not engage in in-depth discussions on Zelensky's proposal. Due to their persistent divisions, they also made no progress on the matter of committing substantial loans to Ukraine.
On social media, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban referred to the so-called "victory plan" as "more than frightening." He emphasized that what is needed now is a ceasefire and peace talks, rather than sending more weapons to Ukraine, asserting that the EU has recklessly involved itself in the conflict and its leaders bear responsibility for this.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico criticized the European Council, saying that it has effectively turned into a "military cabinet", concentrating solely on weapon deliveries to Ukraine.
EU leaders fail to reach new consensus on Ukraine crisis
