Explainer | Land has played a critical role in China’s economic rise, but is it time for reform?
- China maintains around 120 million hectares (297 acres) of arable land to ensure food security for its 1.4 billion people
- Beijing has urged higher efficiency in land use after decades of rapid urbanisation, with signals that it could reform China’s rigid system to aid economic growth
Feeding just less than one fifth of the world’s population on just 9 per cent of the world’s arable land is one of the accomplishments that China has frequently boasted about.
With much of its 960 million hectares (2.4 billion acres) covered by mountains and plateaus, land resources are scarce for China, making its utilisation an issue of strategic importance.
While repeatedly warning against breaking the “red line” on the size of farmland of no less than 120 million hectares, China’s top leadership has urged higher efficiency in land use after decades of rapid urbanisation.
At a meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping in February, top officials agreed to improve coordination of land policies with macroeconomic policies and regional development, vowing to allocate more resources for regions that are more economically competitive.
And although the meeting’s official readout remained brief and vague, it signalled the need to reform China’s complex and rigid land system that is hindering further economic growth.
What is China’s current land system?
In China, the state technically owns all land and controls how it is used.