IN BRIEF (Page 4)

Beijing

1.7 trillion yuan to improve land

China will spend about 1.7 trillion yuan ($247 billion) on increasing the quality of arable land and promoting urbanization. The country will divide its land into nine zones for land consolidation over the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), according to a plan released on Wednesday. Land consolidation refers to the rational use of land. In the case of farming, parcels of land are consolidated to provide larger holdings.