The central government is applying what experts called a timely brake on unreasonable real estate development in the Xiongan New Area, as Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli urged strict controls in the newly announced innovation hub neighboring Beijing.

Zhang called for a "reasonable pace of development" in the new area on Thursday, stressing that large-scale real estate development and illegal construction should be banned, and the pace of development should be reasonable.

Zhang spoke at a conference on the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.