Building a regulated land market is the only way to make the best
use of the country's land resources, Minister of Land and Resources
Tian Fengshan said Monday.
"After 14 years of effort, China has made remarkable progress
towards this goal by establishing a new paid system to transfer the
right to the use of State-owned land,'' said Tian, the day before
this year's National Day of Land.
The establishment of the market has effected some profound changes
in the country's economic life, securing appreciation of
State-owned land property, the minister said.
Before 1987, the only way to get a piece of land for business
activity was to apply to the government, and wait for the land to
be allocated.
But now, interested parties can refer to local-government circulars
for satisfactory land pieces, and then bid for them.
By
the end of 2001, over 90 percent of the country's provinces and
autonomous regions had established a system of public bidding for
the use rights to available land pieces.
And a total of 49.2 billion yuan (US$5.9 billion) has been
collected from public bidding for land-use rights.
Dedicated to enhancing public awareness of the need to protect the
country's limited land resources, the National Day of Land was
designated in 1991, and has been given different themes each year
to tackle heated problems in the field.
This year's theme is "regulating the land market for economic
development.''
"Realizing the value of land through the market mechanism, as well
as keeping the operation of this mechanism on a healthy track, has
become essential for the country as it seeks to maintain its fast
economic growth pace,'' said Tian.
Land parcels are the most important State-owned assets valued at 25
trillion yuan (US$3.019 trillion), more than triple the total value
of other State-owned properties.
The Chinese Constitution stipulates that urban land belongs to the
State, whereas the collectives are entitled to rural land and
suburban land around cities.
And according to the Constitute, user can only be accessed to the
right to use the land for development, but private ownership of
land resources are prohibited.
Besides using the land-market mechanism to increase the value of
State-owned land property, local governments can modify local
economic development through the adjustment of land supply.
In
more than half of the country's municipalities and counties, the
government has become the only supplier of land property by buying
land-use rights from individuals, businesses and institutions.
The government has privilege over other parties to buy land for
reserve. The prices the government pays, as well as the prices at
which it sells the land pieces later, are based on standard land
prices the ministry sets according to the specific geological,
social and economic conditions of the land pieces.
Li
Yuan, vice-minister of land and resources in charge of the land
market, said this land reserve practice, an important trait of the
Chinese land market, also helps increase the value of State-owned
land properties.
"It is after the adoption of the land-reserve practice that local
governments begin to take part in the preparation of land pieces
for construction,'' Li said.
That is, when land pieces are put out for bid, they no longer lack
infrastructure facilities; nor are potential buyers confronted with
the headache of residents' resettlement.
Although the transfer cost of such prepared land is higher than
that of the unprepared, development parties generally prefer the
former because of lower risk.
"It thereby effectively improves the investment environment as
well,'' said Li.
(China
Daily June 25, 2002)