Land policy reform

Why this is important

Selling land has been the primary contributor to the revenues of many local governments, which gradually found themselves in financial difficulties with diminishing amounts of land available for sale.

The fast urbanization trend also demands more land for residential, commercial and industrial use.

Local governments have been requisitioning non-agricultural land from farmers and selling it to commercial developers at a much higher price. Displaced farmers get compensated far less than what they demand, creating social disparity and tainting the reputation of the government.

What to expect

Media reports continue to fuel speculations that the time for a breakthrough has arrived with stories citing experts. Some called for breaking the local governments' monopoly on land transfer.

Land reform will be one of the agendas at the Party conference if things go as expected, said China News Weekly, quoting a source from the Ministry of Land and Resources.

A framework would be worked out to pave a path for future reforms, but specific measures will be hard to detail as it will be a national reform, said the source, with indications it's a complicated issue entangling multiple sides and concerns.