China Acts on Illegal Renting Out of Agricultural Land for Commercial Use

China’s Ministry of Land and Resources issued the “Urgent Circular on Strictly Prohibiting Industrial and Commercial Enterprises from Altering Land Use Purpose without Permission for Constructing Non-agricultural Facilities on Leased Agricultural Land” on November 29, 2011. 

The illegal renting out of rural agricultural land for commercial purposes has been on the rise in recent years in China – especially the renting of land to factories and companies – posing a serious threat to China’s food security.

The Circular is concerned with the transfer of land contractual management rights and aims to ensure that the land use purpose is not altered in the transfer process. Where an enterprise wishes to utilize agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes, such use must comply with the general plan of land use in that locality, and the enterprise must undertake the approval procedures for converting the usage of agricultural land.

The Circular requires all localities to strengthen supervision of land use and incorporate such supervision into their routine scope of inspection, especially focusing on the leasing of agricultural land by industrial and commercial enterprises.

Where illegal use of land is discovered, any constructions that are not in compliance with the law will be demolished, and any land that should be put back into agricultural use should be done so. The entities and individuals responsible for such illegal usage of land will be subject to severe penalties.

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