Xi seeks to tame China's wild property market with rental push

Shanghai

CHINESE President Xi Jinping has unleashed the world's biggest experiment aimed at taming runaway property prices.

After he used a milestone Communist Party Congress in October to push a housing model that emphasises renting, a flurry of activity is under way by developers, banks, local governments and even the biggest stock exchange.

The push is the first of a package of programmes, including a long-awaited property tax, poised to unfold over several years to rein in one of the world's hottest real estate markets.

"China's property market is on the brink of treme…