What is the system of land use control in China?

What is the system of land use control?

China is one of the most populated countries in the world. Until September 2006, per capita cultivated land is 1.4 mu (1 ha=15 mu). This means that China has to feed on 1.3 billion population (about 20% of population of world) with the agricultural production of 7% of the land of world. Worse, as China is emerging a new industrialized country, more and more cultivated land is converted to the construction of office buildings, industry complex, condominiums or infrastructure. Another side product of industrialization is the deterioration of environment and this further reduces cultivated land.

In order to control the reduction of cultivated land, China adopts the system of land use control.

In China, land is categorized as agricultural land, construction land or unused land for different uses from the use purpose of standpoint.

Agricultural land means land that may directly be used for agricultural purposes, which includes cultivated land, forest land, grassland, land for water irrigation and land for aquatic cultivation.

Construction land means land that may be used to construct buildings, which includes land for construction of urban and rural housing and public facilities, land for mining, land for traffic and water irrigation facilities, land for tourism and land for military facilities.

Unused land means land that has not yet been used for agriculture or construction.

Further, land for construction is categorized as collective construction land and state construction land.

If the land user wants to change the land use purpose, for example, from agricultural land to construction land, approval from government authorities is required.

First answer by Zhongzhi gao. Last edit by Zhongzhi gao. Contributor trust: 31 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 7 [recommend question]