Control of land sales
THE CENTRAL AUTHORITY HAS SENT A SERIES OF clear signals that it intends to tighten macro control on national land resources and regulate the deal process. On August 24 the Ministry of Land and Resources added another 22 cities to the list of 84 cities whose land use plan must be reported to and approved by the State Council once a year.
The State Council must approve the requisition of farmland in the area included in the 22 cities' master plan of land use. The 22 cities, made up of affluent coastal cities, tourist resort cities and important industrial hubs in the Pearl River and Yangtze River deltas, have become the hottest real estate markets in China after land deals in first and second-tier cities slowed as a result of a series of tightening measures.
The Ministry of Land and Resources will also pilot online land-use transactions for one year in several cities at various levels. It is hoped that this will help make land sales more transparent and put an end to the lucrative corruption and black box deals that have plagued land sales.
