By Li Hongmei

China has completed a framework and set of guidelines for implementing land management system reforms. Under the plan, land meant for construction which is collectively owned in rural areas is expected to be put on the market for circulation through an auction, the Chinese-language Economic Information Daily reports.

Figures showed that by 2020, China's urbanization rate is set to touch 60% and urban population is expected to reach 850 million, increasing by 140 million from the number registered last year. The country's Ministry of Land and Resources formulated the reforms to address the demand for land used for urban construction. The ministry formed a task force in September last year which was responsible for devising the plan.

After carrying out a survey among over 50 cities in 11 provinces over a 10-month period, the task force mapped out the framework. The reforms will address the total supply of land for construction work, alter the excessive reliance of urban construction projects on additional benefits from land leases, and set up a system that is favorable for using land inventory in construction works.

Experts said that optimizing and reforming the land management system would be closely related to the country's urbanization policy. The reform plan also includes reducing the scope of land expropriation and providing compensation based on the output value instead of market value, creating and regulating a market for land that is collectively owned by farmers, and setting up a land circulation market in urban and rural areas.

Currently, China applies a system of public ownership to land. As a general rule, land in urban areas is owned by the state and land in rural areas is owned by rural collective economic organizations, known as collectives, and can be used for agricultural purposes or collective construction works. Under the reform program, construction land owned by collectives in rural areas is expected to be put on the market for circulation, the paper said.