Tracing Agricultural Land Transfer in China: Some Legal and Policy Issues

Abstract

This paper traces the evolution of land tenure changes in contemporary China since 1949. The transfer of land from peasant households to family farms and commercial sized units is on a vast scale and forms one of the greatest land reforms we have ever seen. The agrarian question forms both the policy and academic context in which this legislative account of land transfer is assessed and raises the question of whether land assembly in China resembles previous agricultural transformation policy and processes in industrialized countries or to what extent it has special characteristics of its own. The security of land holding in rural China, established with the household responsibility system, is seen to mature slowly over three to four periods of adjustment, always protecting the rights of peasants while improving conditions for increasing land productivity, resulting in an extension of the two rights of peasant holdings to three rights in the new millennium. The introduction of a third right, a land management right which is transferable from peasants to outsiders, has enabled a huge land assembly movement affecting millions of small holdings. This process of land tenure restructuring raises such questions as the consequences of the capitalization of agriculture, peasant land dispossession, proletarianization, and the prospect of a future land market in rural China, all topics for further research.

The Equilibrium Mechanism of Interest Distribution in Farmland Transfer: Based on the Perspective of the Three-Party Game

“…e introduction of a third right, a land management right which is transferable from peasants to outsiders, has enabled a huge land assembly movement, affecting millions of small holdings [1].…”

Transfer of Land Use Rights in Rural China and Farmers’ Utility: How to Select an Optimal Payment Mode of Land Increment Income

“…In this reform, China has introduced a series of reform measures to relax rural land property rights and strengthen farmers' land development rights [3]. RCOCL entering the market is an important part of these reform measures [26,27]. The Chinese government hopes to gradually establish a unified urban and rural land market, promote the flow of production factors, and narrow the gap between urban and rural areas through RCOCL entering the market.…”

“…To reduce social inequality and develop the social economy, China initiated comprehensive land reform between 1949 and 1952 [26]. The land reform changed the ownership system of landlords to a system of farmers and implemented a more even distribution based on the number of farmers [27].…”

“…In 1978, the People's Commune disintegrated, and China explored the property rights system reform of the rural household contract responsibility system. Under this system, land ownership and land use rights were separated [27]. That is, the collective ownership of land in rural areas remained unchanged, land ownership remained within the collective, and the land use right belonged to the farmer household.…”

The Mechanism Causing an Increase in Farmland Transfer Rent and the Restraining Effect of High Rent on Grain Production

“…It is a critical factor in ensuring the successful transfer of farmland in China. e introduction of a third right, a land management right, which is transferable from agricultural workers to outsiders, has enabled a huge land assembly movement, affecting millions of small holdings [2]. In recent years, the rent of farmland transfer has been rising.…”