Balancing Cultivated Land Occupation and Compensation and Rural Land Management: Advance in a Standardized and Orderly Manner in Accordance with the Law and Regulations

Xi Jinping Issues Important Instructions on Doing a Good Job in Cultivated Land Protection and Rural Land Transfer

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, May 26 (dispatch) General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, President of the People's Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission Xi Jinping recently issued important instructions on cultivated land protection work. He stressed that cultivated land is China's most precious resource. China's basic national condition of having many people and little land determines that we must protect the cultivated land that is crucial to feeding the more than one billion people, and there must be no mishap. The strictest cultivated land protection system must be implemented, the balance between occupation and compensation of cultivated land must be done well in accordance with the law and regulations, rural land transfer must be advanced in a standardized and orderly manner, and cultivated land must be protected just like protecting giant pandas.

Xi Jinping pointed out that the policy of balancing cultivated land occupation and compensation is a remedial measure for the continuous expansion of cultivated land occupied by industrialization and urbanization construction, and is permitted by national laws and policies, but this work must be done with a strong awareness of protecting cultivated land and must be carried out strictly in accordance with the law and regulations. More forceful measures must be taken to strengthen supervision over the balance between occupation and compensation of cultivated land, resolutely prevent problems in the balance between occupation and compensation of cultivated land such as insufficient quantity of compensation and inadequate quality of compensation, and resolutely prevent phenomena such as occupying more and compensating less, occupying superior land and compensating with inferior land, and occupying paddy fields and compensating with dry land. In the pilot reform of the rural land system, strict checks must be kept, and some people must not be allowed to occupy cultivated land in the name of reform. Regarding new situations and new problems emerging in the balance between occupation and compensation of cultivated land and in cultivated land protection, investigation and research must be strengthened, and effective countermeasures must be proposed.

Xi Jinping stressed that land transfer and various forms of scaled operation are the inevitable path for developing modern agriculture and are also the basic direction of rural reform. In the practice of land transfer, all regions must be required to implement the principles and policies determined by the Party Central Committee exactly as they are, both increasing policy support and encouraging innovation in agricultural operation systems and mechanisms, and also adapting measures to local conditions and proceeding step by step, without launching a Great Leap Forward, without coercion and commandism, and without blind administrative direction. In particular, problems must be prevented such as some industrial and commercial capital entering rural areas to intervene in land transfer and then carrying out non-agricultural construction, affecting cultivated land protection and grain production. Attention must be paid to improving laws and regulations on land contracting, implementing policies supporting grain production, improving supervision and risk prevention mechanisms, and strengthening the construction of township and rural operation and management systems, so as to promote standardized and orderly land transfer and truly stimulate farmers' enthusiasm for agricultural production, especially grain production.

Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Premier of the State Council Li Keqiang made instructions stressing that, in accordance with the requirements of the strictest cultivated land protection system, standardized management of the balance between occupation and compensation of cultivated land must be strengthened in accordance with the law, prominent existing problems must be promptly rectified, the relationship between economic development and cultivated land protection must be well handled, land use potential must be vigorously tapped, and land use efficiency must be improved; guidance to local areas must be strengthened, land transfer must be explored and advanced in a standardized and orderly manner, and various forms of appropriately scaled operation must be developed.

The Office of the Central Leading Group for Rural Work, the Ministry of Land and Resources, and the Ministry of Agriculture recently held a video conference to put forward specific requirements for implementing the spirit of the above instructions and comments and for doing a good job in cultivated land protection work.