Chinese housing companies that are seriously insolvent or can no longer operate must file for bankruptcy or restructuring in line with the country's laws and market rules, a senior official said on Saturday, adding that any action impairing people's interests will be punished accordingly.

In order to bolster the healthy development of the real estate sector, China will also ramp up efforts to build a new development model for the sector, with an aim to solve the current difficulties facing the housing market and promote its sound and steady development, said Ni Hong, minister of housing and urban-rural development.

He made the remarks at a media conference held on the sidelines of the ongoing two sessions, the annual meetings of the nation's top legislative and political advisory bodies.

Ni said the country would effectively allocate the four factors of people, houses, land and funds. People's demands should serve as the basis for China's housing plans, which in turn will be used to plan out the use of land and funds.

Ni also stressed efforts to improve government-subsidized housing, with a focus on exploring new ways to increase the number of government-subsidized houses for sale. This will serve as a major move for the country to improve both its residential housing system and housing supply system.

According to Ni, despite undergoing a transition period, China's real estate sector still enjoys great penitential and shows space for development in the mid-?to long-term. There are currently more than 30 billion square meters of urban houses in the country waiting to be upgraded and restored.