Changjiang Daily:

With a large population, China has long faced the problem that land resources fail to satisfy the needs of the population in the process of advancing modernization. Faced with such a reality, what measures will be adopted to coordinate the development and protection of land to promote the green transformation of China's growth model and achieve sustainable development? Thank you.  

Liu Guohong:

Thanks to this reporter for the questions. As is known to all, China's basic national condition is that it has a large population but limited land resources. Therefore, to achieve sustainable economic and social development the only way out is to strictly protect arable land and use intensive land efficiently. The measures we have adopted can be generalized into four aspects. That is, strictly controlling the "increment", vitalizing the "stock", improving the structure, and enhancing efficiency. Let me elaborate on each of them.

First, we will strictly control additional land use for nonagricultural purposes. Arable land is the lifeline of grain production and, thus, is the most valuable resource. We must adhere to the strictest possible system for the protection of farmland, implement strict regulations on land use and prevent the arable land and other agricultural land from being used for construction purposes. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the area of additional land designated for construction projects nationwide will be kept at 1.97 million hectares, with a reduction of 200,000 hectares over the 13th Five-Year Plan period.

Second, we will put existing resources to good use. We will reform the way of managing land use plans, ensure that land stays with the project it is allocated to, and implement the mechanism for coordinating the consumption of existing resources and the arrangements for additional resources to force local authorities to make great efforts to use land stock. Since the introduction of the mechanism in 2018, a total of 1.47 million hectares of land, consisting of land that had got approval but had not been provided to developers and land that had been left idle by developers, have been consumed over the past five years, over three times the area of additional land in the annual plan. It should be said that this mechanism has yielded good results.

Third, we will improve the land use structure. We will work to promote the redevelopment of land in urban areas that cannot be fully exploited in order to use the "stock" in exchange of the "increment". We will encourage the integrated development of above ground and underground spaces. We will double efforts to improve land use in rural areas in a comprehensive manner. We will ensure that the total acreage of arable land does not diminish, and the layout of permanent basic farmland remains stable. We will gradually move the arable land in higher mountains into lower areas and try to place fruit trees and forest trees along the mountains based on local conditions. These measures will release space by improving the land use structure. 

Fourth, enhancing efficiency. We will thoroughly advance the development of a sound unified rural-urban market for land designated for construction purposes, further improve the system for the paid use of state-owned land, make a big push to promote the combination of leasing and transferring of land designated for industrial purposes, and improve the secondary market for land. We will revise the standards on use of land for infrastructure purposes, expand the scope of paid use for such land, and strive to better utilize capital and technology for development. We will establish model counties (cities) for the conservation and efficient utilization of natural resources, guiding society in increasing awareness of economical and intensive use of land resources. During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period, we will strive to reduce the land for construction per unit of GDP. That is to say, the "land consumption" we often refer to will drop by about 15%.

The report delivered at the opening session of the 20th CPC National Congress noted that the nation will speed up the transition to a model of green development and implement a comprehensive conservation strategy. We will continue to improve the policy system for conserving various natural resources, including land, and using them efficiently, continuously promote conservation and efficient use of resources, and strive to obtain the greatest economic and social benefits with the least cost to resources and the environment.

Thank you.