Two departments: Carry out the implementation of urban renewal actions supported by central fiscal funds in 2026.

On April 16, the General Office of the Ministry of Finance and the General Office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued a notice on carrying out the urban renewal action supported by central finance in 2026. The notice pointed out that the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development will select cities with good basic conditions, high enthusiasm, and outstanding characteristics through competitive selection, integrate various resources at the city level, explore the establishment of mechanisms to guarantee various elements such as funds, land, and finance, and form a collaborative effort. The central finance will provide fixed subsidies to the selected cities. The selected cities will develop urban renewal work plans, coordinate the use of central and local funds, significantly improve the level of urban infrastructure, improve the living environment in old areas, improve regulations, planning standards, investment and financing mechanisms, and related supporting policies, and explore mechanisms and models of urban renewal that are replicable and promotable. The text above: General Office of the Ministry of Finance General Office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Notice on Carrying out the Urban Renewal Action Supported by Central Finance in 2026 Provincial (Autonomous Region) Departments of Finance, Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Finance Bureau, and Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps: In order to implement the decisions and arrangements of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Central Urban Work Conference on the implementation of urban renewal actions, and to implement the requirements of the Central Economic Work Conference and the Government Work Report, in 2026, the central finance will continue to support some cities to implement urban renewal actions, carry out relatively concentrated joint district construction of key model areas and sustainable urban renewal mechanism construction, further emphasize the combination of investment and consumption, investment in goods and investment in people, promote the transformation of urban infrastructure construction from "having or not" to "good or bad," solve urgent problems, arouse long-standing worries of the people, and realize the high-quality development of cities. The relevant requirements are hereby notified as follows: 1. Work objectives The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development will select cities with good basic conditions, high enthusiasm, and outstanding characteristics through competitive selection, integrate various resources at the city level, explore the establishment of mechanisms to guarantee various elements such as funds, land, and finance, and form a collaborative effort. The central finance will provide fixed subsidies to the selected cities. The selected cities will develop urban renewal work plans, coordinate the use of central and local funds, significantly improve the level of urban infrastructure, improve the living environment in old areas, improve regulations, planning standards, investment and financing mechanisms, and related supporting policies, and explore mechanisms and models of urban renewal that are replicable and promotable. 2. Application conditions In 2026, the scope of central finance support for urban renewal work includes cities at or above the prefecture level, with a total of no more than 15 cities to be selected. Each province (autonomous region) and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps can recommend one city for evaluation. The recommended city must meet the following basic conditions: 1. Establish an organization leadership and coordination mechanism to promote urban renewal work, formulate a work plan for the implementation of urban renewal actions supported by central finance, specify the relatively concentrated implementation scope, mainly in the old urban areas; 2. The city's financial resources must meet the needs of urban renewal investment, the local government's debt risks must be controllable, and no new government hidden debts may be formed due to the implementation of urban renewal; 3. Since January 1, 2024, there have been no major production safety accidents or major negative public opinion incidents in the housing and urban-rural development field. 3. Selection organization method Cities supported by central finance will be selected through competitive evaluation, focusing on cities with solid foundation work, full conditions, and high enthusiasm. (a) Provincial recommendation. Provincial departments of finance and housing and urban-rural development will evaluate and recommend cities that meet the application requirements in their respective regions, organize the preparation of work plans, and provide necessary supporting materials. (b) Written review. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development will organize experts to review the city's application plan. The cities selected for on-site defense will be determined based on a margin of 120%. (c) On-site defense. Representatives from the selected cities will participate in public defenses, with specific requirements to be notified separately. (d) Public announcement. The selected cities will be determined based on a comprehensive review of the written evaluations and on-site defenses. The selected cities will be announced publicly, and those with no objections will be confirmed as cities supported by the central finance for urban renewal actions. Any city found to have engaged in violations and confirmed after investigation will have its qualification revoked. 4. Subsidy standards and support scope (a) Central finance subsidy standards. The central finance will provide fixed subsidies to cities implementing urban renewal actions based on regional factors. Specifically: in the eastern region, the total subsidy amount for each city will not exceed 800 million yuan; in the central region, the total subsidy amount for each city will not exceed 1 billion yuan; in the western region, the total subsidy amount for each city will not exceed 1.2 billion yuan. Funds will be allocated annually based on progress in the work. (b) Direction of fund support. The central finance funds will support the key model area construction and mechanism construction in the selected cities in two directions: 1. Construction of key model areas for urban renewal. This includes upgrading the quality of urban infrastructure, such as the renovation and construction of water supply, heating, sewage and garbage collection, comprehensive poles, and parking facilities. It also includes the construction and renovation of complete community buildings and neighborhood facilities, such as the construction and renovation of community public service facilities, convenient commercial service facilities, public activity venues, and optimization and renovation of residential area supporting municipal facilities. Additionally, it involves the renovation and revitalization of old areas (blocks) such as historic and cultural districts, existing public buildings, and public spaces. It also includes utilizing existing land and vacant houses for municipal facilities, filling gaps in public service facilities in the field of people's livelihood, and building consumer-oriented infrastructure. 2. Construction of urban renewal mechanisms. This includes project reserves and generation mechanisms. Mechanisms that can be formed include, but are not limited to, planning, reserve, and implementation timing of urban renewal projects, planning and implementation system of urban examination assessment, special planning for urban renewal - district planning - project implementation plan, comprehensive safety management of housing throughout the life cycle, overall coordination of underground pipeline, urban renewal project reserve library construction, post-construction effectiveness evaluation mechanism, etc. In terms of funding arrangements, mechanisms conducive to the coordinated use of fiscal and financial resources will be established. In terms of financial support, exploration of optimizing the credit support mode of financial institutions, encouraging the entry of social capital. Meanwhile, the establishment of a reasonable cost-sharing mechanism and a long-term mechanism conducive to industry development, such as the professional operation mechanism of secondary water supply facilities in residential areas, the long-term coordination mechanism for sewage collection and treatment facility construction and operation, the pay-for-performance mechanism oriented towards improving sewage collection efficiency, the operating mechanism of complete community construction, etc. Also included are land guarantee and approval mechanisms, including mechanisms related to activating and using inefficient existing land, land and vacant houses, and municipal facilities, applicable to the approval system of urban renewal projects for renovation projects, urban renewal-related regulations, standards, and technical specifications. Central funds can be used for related expenses during the establishment process of the above three types of mechanisms. Each city should focus on the key contents of this urban renewal, focusing on the old urban areas, and concentrating on building model districts and projects for urban renewal. At the same time, it is necessary to coordinate with existing support policies, and specific projects should not apply for central budget investment, vehicle purchase tax funds, super long-term special national debt funds, and other channels of central funds, to avoid overlapping applications. Each city should establish and practice a correct political performance view, resolutely eliminate impatience for quick success and instant benefits, false practices, blind action, decisions that go against the wishes of the people and are unrealistic, firmly resist the creation of "image projects" and "performance projects," policy planning "puffery," and incomplete and abandoned projects. 5. Daily tracking, supervision and inspection, and performance management Provincial housing and urban-rural development, finance departments should strengthen daily guidance, tracking, and supervision of selected cities and promptly report on the progress, issues, and best practices to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance. In principle, each city should submit reports at least once a year. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development will conduct performance evaluations in accordance with the "Central Finance Support for Urban Renewal Action Performance Evaluation Measures" and relevant requirements of central fund budget management. 6. Other matters (a) Provincial finance and housing and urban-rural development departments should jointly submit the application materials to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development by May 8, 2026. The application cities should electronically submit the implementation plan and related materials through the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development's email (including supporting documents) or through mobile storage media such as CDs. The electronic materials should not contain any classified documents or content, and the size of the materials should not exceed 8GB. To save costs, except for the formal application letter from provincial finance and housing and urban-rural development departments, all implementation plans and supporting materials should be submitted electronically. (b) Each applicant city should prepare a work plan as required (duration of three years) to reduce application expenses. Local authorities are not allowed to commission any individuals from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, or their affiliated agencies, institutions, or staff, in any way (with or without attribution) to participate in the preparation of the work plan; outsourcing to intermediary organizations or technical teams for "copywriting and storytelling" or printing luxurious materials is not allowed. (c) Each province should strictly adhere to the specified quantity and requirements for recommending cities, submitting materials, etc., and take responsibility for the authenticity of the submissions. Cities that do not submit according to the requirements or have clearly inaccurate submissions will have their application qualifications revoked for the current year. (d) After the cities selected through competitive evaluation have been determined, they should stamp the overall performance goals for the three-year action, the performance objectives for 2026 and submit them to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development for record-keeping before the end of the public announcement period. During the subsequent three-year construction period, each city should submit the performance objectives for the next year and stamp them with the city government's official seal by the end of May each year. General Office of the Ministry of Finance General Office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development April 13, 2026 This article is excerpted from the Ministry of Finance and edited by GMTEight: Chen Wenfang.