1. WANG Xiaorui (Rae) Paris Dauphine University
The sustainability dilemma in China’s overheated market for land: A historical review
WANG Xiaorui (Rae)
Paris Dauphine University
Rice terraces in Guizhou province, PR China

2. Evolution of China’s land policies Effects of the policy changes
Introduction
Evolution of China’s land policies
Effects of the policy changes
Reflections
Introduction
Introduction

3. Evolution of China’s land policies Effects of the policy changes
Introduction
Evolution of China’s land policies
Effects of the policy changes
Reflections
Background
The “socialist market economy”: an oxymoron
Socialism
A market economy, or simply capitalism?
Rationale according to official discourse: adopting capitalist techniques to thrive
State’s strong intervention v.s. seemingly self-regulated markets
Research question:
“In China, does the State do her job of limiting the circulation of the fictitious commodity of land? If so, how? If not, what is the State doing anyway? And why?”
Nature of land, and land-related questions
The “subdivided nature” and human activities
Recognition in law (ownership, land-use right)

4. Evolution of China’s land policies Effects of the policy changes
Introduction
Evolution of China’s land policies
Effects of the policy changes
Reflections
Introduction
Evolution of China’s land policies
After the 1949 “Liberation”
The 1978 reform

5. After the 1949 “Liberation”
Introduction
Evolution of China’s land policies
Effects of the policy changes
Reflections
After the 1949 “Liberation”
In rural districts
Private farms, frequent land transaction before the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took power in 1949
In 1949, private ownership of farms accused as one of the major instruments of class domination, thus prohibited
Idem for land transfer markets
Central planning took place (rather than redistribute to the poor peasants ‘as promised’)
Peasants work for the ‘People’s Commune’
In urban districts
Private land ownership, frequent land transactions before 1949
After 1949: State confiscation  State ownership  land-use rights allocated free of charge to “socioeconomic units” (dan wei)

6. Evolution of China’s land policies Effects of the policy changes
Introduction
Evolution of China’s land policies
Effects of the policy changes
Reflections
Introduction
1978 land reform
Land reform accompanying the general “opening-up” of China’s economy
Absence of land law (until 1986, promulgated in an ex post manner)
“The PRC practises socialist public ownership of land, namely, ownership by the whole people and collective ownership by the working people. Ownership by the whole people means that the right of ownership in state-owned land is exercised by the State Council on behalf of the State.”
– Article 2 of the Land Administration Law (1986)
“Land in the urban areas of cities is owned by the State. Land in rural and suburban areas is owned by peasant collectives, except for those portions of land which belong to the State as provided for by law; house sites and private plots of cropland and hilly land are owned by peasant collectives.”
– Article 8 of the Land Administration Law (1986)

7. 1978 land reform – Immediate effects
Introduction
Evolution of China’s land policies
Effects of the policy changes
Reflections
1978 land reform – Immediate effects
In rural districts
Managed to restore the incentive scheme that motivates the farmers to return to the fields and to work hard, after many years of practicing the “people’s commune”
Preserved and legitimised the state and collective ownership structure
In urban districts
State ownership remains unchanged
Impossible for the State (national and regional governments) to benefit from the land they own
The 1979 trial project of establishing ‘Special Economic Zones’ (SEZs), and the eventual rural/urban cleavage

8. 1978 land reform – The SEZ trail and popularisation
Introduction
Evolution of China’s land policies
Effects of the policy changes
Reflections
1978 land reform – The SEZ trail and popularisation
“The CCP central authority has no money, but can give you (top cadres of regions where SEZs were to be established – author’s note) some policies, which allow you to take initiative and blaze a new trail on your own.” *
– DENG Xiaoping, in Xinhuanet.com (2009)
Features of SEZs
“The market economy becomes the dominant law of value.” (Zhang, 1997, p. 187)
Started to allow the foreign direct investments’ access to land in China (though restricted to the SEZs only)
Regional governments started to be allowed to generate income through the land-use tenure system
Significant effect on increasing local revenues
Popularisation in all the urban districts
* Originally in Chinese: “中央没有钱，可以给些政策，你们自己去搞，杀出一条血路来。”

9. 1978 land reform – The land related revenue
Introduction
Evolution of China’s land policies
Effects of the policy changes
Reflections
1978 land reform – The land related revenue
“The land administration department under the State Council shall be in charge of unified administration of and supervision over the land throughout the country. The establishment and duties of the land administration departments of local people’s governments at or above the county level shall be decided by people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State Council.” – Article 5* of the Land Administration Law (1988)
Land revenue goes directly to the regional government treasury!
Promulgation of land law again in an ex post manner (only ‘circulars’ and ‘interim provisions’ when first announced)
Restatement on ownership of rural land: still belongs to village collectives, cannot be legally leased out for profit.
*The quoted part made its first appearance in the 1988 amendment.

10. Evolution of China’s land policies Effects of the policy changes
Introduction
Evolution of China’s land policies
Effects of the policy changes
Reflections
Effects of the policy changes

11. Evolution of China’s land policies Effects of the policy changes
Introduction
Evolution of China’s land policies
Effects of the policy changes
Reflections
Effects of the land reform
The rural/urban cleavage
Rural economy relying solely on agriculture V.S. Urban spectacular economic growth driven by land transaction
The challenge of poverty in rural districts
Reaction of the rural districts towards this cleavage
Rural–urban migration
The rise of township-village enterprises (TVEs)
Summary
Legislation issues
Decentralisation of fiscal revenue management  regional cadres become ‘entrepreneur’
FDI-attracting policy and environment pollution
Urbanisation: State’s massive acquisition of rural land for infrastructure and real estate development)

12. Evolution of China’s land policies Effects of the policy changes
Introduction
Evolution of China’s land policies
Effects of the policy changes
Reflections
Reflections

13. Reconsidering the reform (1)
Introduction
Evolution of China’s land policies
Effects of the policy changes
Reflections
Reconsidering the reform (1)
Policies that set out to ‘pursue development’ ( = stimulate economic growth?)
Immediate effects and consequences in the long run
Inevitableness of urban expansion in this capitalist world
(More) policies to curb the side-effects of this stimulation?
Small (but important) factor that differentiates the Chinese model of development and that in the West – the pace!
Example: typical urban expansion process in French suburban areas V.S. the case in China
State’s strong intervention of land market in China: Encouragement of the overwhelmingly free market for land-use rights

14. Reconsidering the reform (2)
Introduction
Evolution of China’s land policies
Effects of the policy changes
Reflections
Reconsidering the reform (2)
France:
New comers become the majority in the farmer representatives group, and would vote ‘nay’ to take in more new comers (fearing of living standard degradation)
Decide the number of new comers to be accepted
Elected farmer representatives (“élus agriculteurs”) vote ‘aye’
(…Until next round)
All residents benefit from the land transaction and land price rise
[Involvement of civil societies in the decision-making process…]
China:
Favourable policies to attract new comers
Governments decide
Urban
expansion
Government investment