Page 170 - 2017 White Paper
P. 170
7 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
Notable Policy Activity central government will also 鈥渆nhance the supervision
of State-owned assets, as total assets of all State-farms
Better Land Use Rights for Farmers in China have already exceeded 1 trillion yuan (US$156
billion)鈥�. He said that the total GDP of State-farms in 2015
New reforms announced in November 2013 allow is expected to reach 701 billion yuan, a year-on-year
鈥渞ural collectively-owned land, a legacy of the planned increase of 8 percent (Xu 2014).
economy, to be transferred, rented or pooled鈥� but will
鈥渟top short of giving commercial firms free rein to buy Ongoing Land Reform
land and will focus instead on creating bigger family
farms鈥�, Reuters reports (Stanway and Niu 2013). Another Rural land reform continues to be an issue of great
condition of the purchase of collectively-owned land is importance to a great number of people in China. While
that 鈥渇irms are only allowed to do modern farming and urban housing has been essentially privatized for more
livestock breeding, not real estate or tourism鈥� (Ibid.). than a decade (although land still officially belongs to
the State), reform in rural areas 鈥� and particularly with
The move is reportedly part of the government鈥檚 regard to arable land 鈥� has been slower (The Economist
effort 鈥渢o persuade families to stay in the countryside by 2008).
raising incomes, and the large-scale family farm has been
identified as the most effective method; each [of the In response to overzealous appropriation of agri-
country鈥檚 877,000] family-owned farms earned 184,700 cultural land by localities, The Regulation on Protecting
yuan (US$30,300) in 2012, about ten times higher than Basic Farmland was enacted in 1994, with an amendment
the average rural household income鈥� (Stanway and Niu in 1999. The regulation stipulates, basically, that
2013). The World Bank reports that 鈥渄espite massive off- agricultural land (which is scarce to begin with) is not to
farm migration, rural population growth meant that be reassigned to industrial or commercial purposes, and
cultivated land per agricultural laborer has remained should neither be 鈥渓eft idle or deserted鈥� (The Ministry of
fairly constant, increasing only from 0.35 hectares in 1978 Agriculture of China 2004). The Ministry of Agriculture
to 0.41 in 2008. Average Chinese farm holdings are well additionally noted that 鈥渋n 2003, due to some tendency
under 1 hectare, far lower than the global average; the in some localities toward neglecting basic farmland
average farm in the United States is 300 times bigger protection in recent years, the Chinese Government
than in China鈥� (World Bank 2014). issued The Circular on Further Measures to Implement
Strict Farmland Protection System鈥�, in an oblique
Arguing against greater consolidation in the short- reference to the land appropriations by authorities
term,鈥渞esearchers have said it was not suitable to develop looking to resell the land for profit, a significant cause of
farms on the scale of those in the United States, given social unrest in rural areas (Ibid.). The result of the circular
China鈥檚 huge population and the need to find work for was that鈥渆fforts have been made to rectify and straighten
450 million farmers still likely to live in the countryside by out various kinds of development zones, and resolutely
2030鈥� (Stanway and Niu 2013). reverse any illegal establishment of development zones
and expansion of the areas the development zones
On December 1, 2015, the Chinese central government occupy鈥� (Ibid.). Xinhua subsequently reported that 鈥淢ore
issued a guideline in a bid to push the transformation than 50,000 land dispute cases arose in 224 cities and
of State farms before 2020. A week after the national counties across the country from 2003 to March 2008鈥�
government鈥檚 announcement, a senior official with (Xinhua 2009).
the Ministry of Agriculture, Yang Shaopin, in a news
conference, said that China will transform its 1,780 State The State Council also got involved, having issued
farms into 鈥渕odern鈥� agricultural market enterprises, The Circular of the State Council on Strengthening Land
even as he warned that this could be a 鈥渟low transitional Control (Guo Fa [2006] No. 31) in 2006, half-way through
process鈥�. In a report by China Daily, the national guideline the period of study reported by Xinhua. The Wall Street
said that the reform 鈥渋s intended to develop a number of Journal suggests that reform efforts are still necessary,
agricultural production bases for grain, cotton, sugar, milk, citing a Chinese Academy of Social Sciences report that
seeds and oil鈥�. It also 鈥渁ims to further raise the income of 65 percent of the estimated 187,000 鈥渕ass incidents鈥�
workers, and improve infrastructure and public services (demonstrations or protests) in 2010 were related to land
available to the workers鈥�. Mr. Yang further added that the disputes (Hanstad 2011).
170
Notable Policy Activity central government will also 鈥渆nhance the supervision
of State-owned assets, as total assets of all State-farms
Better Land Use Rights for Farmers in China have already exceeded 1 trillion yuan (US$156
billion)鈥�. He said that the total GDP of State-farms in 2015
New reforms announced in November 2013 allow is expected to reach 701 billion yuan, a year-on-year
鈥渞ural collectively-owned land, a legacy of the planned increase of 8 percent (Xu 2014).
economy, to be transferred, rented or pooled鈥� but will
鈥渟top short of giving commercial firms free rein to buy Ongoing Land Reform
land and will focus instead on creating bigger family
farms鈥�, Reuters reports (Stanway and Niu 2013). Another Rural land reform continues to be an issue of great
condition of the purchase of collectively-owned land is importance to a great number of people in China. While
that 鈥渇irms are only allowed to do modern farming and urban housing has been essentially privatized for more
livestock breeding, not real estate or tourism鈥� (Ibid.). than a decade (although land still officially belongs to
the State), reform in rural areas 鈥� and particularly with
The move is reportedly part of the government鈥檚 regard to arable land 鈥� has been slower (The Economist
effort 鈥渢o persuade families to stay in the countryside by 2008).
raising incomes, and the large-scale family farm has been
identified as the most effective method; each [of the In response to overzealous appropriation of agri-
country鈥檚 877,000] family-owned farms earned 184,700 cultural land by localities, The Regulation on Protecting
yuan (US$30,300) in 2012, about ten times higher than Basic Farmland was enacted in 1994, with an amendment
the average rural household income鈥� (Stanway and Niu in 1999. The regulation stipulates, basically, that
2013). The World Bank reports that 鈥渄espite massive off- agricultural land (which is scarce to begin with) is not to
farm migration, rural population growth meant that be reassigned to industrial or commercial purposes, and
cultivated land per agricultural laborer has remained should neither be 鈥渓eft idle or deserted鈥� (The Ministry of
fairly constant, increasing only from 0.35 hectares in 1978 Agriculture of China 2004). The Ministry of Agriculture
to 0.41 in 2008. Average Chinese farm holdings are well additionally noted that 鈥渋n 2003, due to some tendency
under 1 hectare, far lower than the global average; the in some localities toward neglecting basic farmland
average farm in the United States is 300 times bigger protection in recent years, the Chinese Government
than in China鈥� (World Bank 2014). issued The Circular on Further Measures to Implement
Strict Farmland Protection System鈥�, in an oblique
Arguing against greater consolidation in the short- reference to the land appropriations by authorities
term,鈥渞esearchers have said it was not suitable to develop looking to resell the land for profit, a significant cause of
farms on the scale of those in the United States, given social unrest in rural areas (Ibid.). The result of the circular
China鈥檚 huge population and the need to find work for was that鈥渆fforts have been made to rectify and straighten
450 million farmers still likely to live in the countryside by out various kinds of development zones, and resolutely
2030鈥� (Stanway and Niu 2013). reverse any illegal establishment of development zones
and expansion of the areas the development zones
On December 1, 2015, the Chinese central government occupy鈥� (Ibid.). Xinhua subsequently reported that 鈥淢ore
issued a guideline in a bid to push the transformation than 50,000 land dispute cases arose in 224 cities and
of State farms before 2020. A week after the national counties across the country from 2003 to March 2008鈥�
government鈥檚 announcement, a senior official with (Xinhua 2009).
the Ministry of Agriculture, Yang Shaopin, in a news
conference, said that China will transform its 1,780 State The State Council also got involved, having issued
farms into 鈥渕odern鈥� agricultural market enterprises, The Circular of the State Council on Strengthening Land
even as he warned that this could be a 鈥渟low transitional Control (Guo Fa [2006] No. 31) in 2006, half-way through
process鈥�. In a report by China Daily, the national guideline the period of study reported by Xinhua. The Wall Street
said that the reform 鈥渋s intended to develop a number of Journal suggests that reform efforts are still necessary,
agricultural production bases for grain, cotton, sugar, milk, citing a Chinese Academy of Social Sciences report that
seeds and oil鈥�. It also 鈥渁ims to further raise the income of 65 percent of the estimated 187,000 鈥渕ass incidents鈥�
workers, and improve infrastructure and public services (demonstrations or protests) in 2010 were related to land
available to the workers鈥�. Mr. Yang further added that the disputes (Hanstad 2011).
170
