(Yicai) Oct. 19 -- The possibility that real estate risks in the Chinese market will result in financial risks is low, according to a chief analyst.

House prices have fallen to some extent this year, but this did not cause real estate assets to become "negative assets," Song Xuetao, chief macro analyst at TF Securities, said at an economic forum recently held in Wuhan, Hubei province.

Real estate is crucial for the Chinese economy. Property-related loans accounted for 40 percent of Chinese banks' total, and income related to the sector made up half of local governments' overall finances, Ni Hong, head of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said earlier. Sixty percent of Chinese residents' wealth is in the form of properties, Ni pointed out.

Residents still choose to pay off mortgages early instead of stopping payment, Song added, noting that derivatives related to the property sector are smaller.

China's new home sales peaked in 2021, Ba Shusong, a professor at Peking University HSBC Business School, said at another forum also held in Wuhan. The market is seeking a new balance point now, Ba noted.

Chinese demand for housing will mostly concentrate on central cities and clusters of core cities to improve, said Ba, who is also the executive director of Peking University's HSBC Financial Research Institute.

The Chinese economy has found its new growth momentum while conducting a "de-property" process, achieving an N-shaped recovery, economists generally said at recent forums.

The Chinese economy will continue to rely on exports, consumption, and investments to recover, said Yao Jingyuian, a special researcher at the Counsellors' Office of the State Council. It is vital to make good use of private investments and arouse dynamism in the private economy, Yao added.

Shattering monopolies and local blockades are a must to boost confidence in the private economy, noted Yao, who is also a former chief economist at the National Bureau of Statistics.

China should also build a fairer market access mechanism, protect the lawful rights and interests of private businesses, and encourage private firms to enter innovative areas for expansion and development, suggested Shi Jinchuan, president of the Center for Research of Private Economy at Zhejiang University.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione