State Farm Assets Alone Exceed One Trillion Yuan; Ministry of Agriculture Acknowledges Problems with State-Owned Assets
China News Service, December 7 (Report) Yang Shaopin, a member of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Agriculture, said today that for a long time, due to constraints from various quarters, the ownership of state farm state-owned assets has not been very clear, the responsibilities of the investor are not very well defined, and management has not been fully in place, which to a certain extent has caused the loss of state farm state-owned assets.
The State Council Information Office held a press conference today. Yang Shaopin, a member of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Agriculture, introduced the “Opinions on Further Advancing the Reform and Development of State Farms” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”) and related matters concerning state farm reform and development in the new era, and answered questions from reporters.
A reporter asked: “This state-led reform of state farms involves a huge amount of state-owned assets. How will supervision be strengthened, and how will state-owned assets be protected and revitalized?”
Yang Shaopin said that as state-owned agricultural enterprises, state farms must not only adhere to the basic direction of comprehensive rural reform in their reform efforts, but also follow the basic laws of state-owned enterprise reform. This is also the difficulty of state farm reform. This document proposes establishing a state-owned asset supervision system suited to the characteristics of state farms.
He further explained that after more than 60 years of development and construction, state farms have already formed a huge amount of state-owned assets. Enterprise assets exceed one trillion yuan, not yet including resource-type assets such as land. These more than one trillion yuan in state farm assets are distributed across multiple industries including agriculture, industry, commerce, transportation, construction, and services, and are of many different types. Land is the most important resource-type asset of state farms. State farms nationwide cover 371,000 square kilometers of national territory, including 93.16 million mu of cultivated land, 230 million mu of grassland, and 59.55 million mu of forest land. These are all state-owned assets, but the land, grassland, forest land, and cultivated land have not yet been included in accounting records.
Yang Shaopin pointed out that for a long time, due to constraints from various quarters, the ownership of state farm state-owned assets has not been very clear, the responsibilities of the investor are not very well defined, and management has not been fully in place, which to a certain extent has caused the loss of state farm state-owned assets. The core of establishing and improving a state-owned asset supervision system suited to the characteristics of state farms is to straighten out the relationship between government and capital, clarify ownership relations, and establish a supervision system focused mainly on capital management.
——Who manages? It is made clear that state farm management departments shall perform the responsibilities of the investor and strengthen supervision over state farm enterprises and state-owned assets.
——What is managed? Affairs, personnel, and direction must be managed. In accordance with the general requirements for reforming and managing state-owned assets, the business direction and capital investment direction of state farm enterprises must be grasped, ensuring that state-owned capital is mainly invested in the agricultural industry, and effectively fulfilling the responsibility of preserving and increasing the value of state-owned assets. Those who cause the loss of state-owned assets must be held strictly accountable.
——How is it managed? The authorized operation system for state-owned capital must be reformed, and pilot projects for restructuring and establishing state farm state-owned capital investment and operating companies must be carried out. This will promote the preservation and increase of the value of state-owned assets, amplify the functions of state-owned capital, and improve the operating efficiency and returns of state-owned capital.