Hu calls for plan to improve land use

BEIJING - President Hu Jintao said on Tuesday that China should implement a land-saving strategy, continue to adopt strict regulations to protect arable land and improve land use.

Hu said China, a developing country with a limited amount of available arable land, faces many new problems with land management, and he called for less reliance on land resources to create economic growth and for protecting the interests of farmers after land requisition.

"When we are satisfying the current needs of development, we should also take the future needs into consideration," Hu said at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. "This reflects China's scientific outlook on development and is a strategic measure to ensure food security."