China’s land use and urbanization: challenges for comprehensive reform

This chapter investigates China's new land use and urbanization reforms, the issues that have led to the reforms and the challenges for the foreseeable future. It synthesizes land use and urbanization issues with a content analysis of the new reform documents. The chapter covers issues that have been debated in the literature since 2012, and includes suggestions about possible future reform directions. Cross-tabulating the issues with reform measures helps identify the challenges the reforms are expected to confront. The analysis has four thematic lenses: the general system, examining the overall structure and development of land use and urbanization, urban area, rural area, and the government's role. The chapter also synthesizes various suggestions for improvement, with a focus on reforming rural property rights, liberalizing the land market and loosening Hukou restrictions. It contributes to the newest understanding of China's land use and urbanization by documenting the deepening reforms and analyzing the central issues, tensions and challenges ahead.