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China in an Era of Transition pp 79–101Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Dual System of Land Use Policy and Its Related Problems in Contemporary China

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Abstract

Land ownership is a crucial issue. Nearly all social struggles in history are “essentially for the ownership and use of land” (Weber 1988, 343). Throughout China’s history, land and its distribution have been central to any understanding of the country’s complex relationship between power, politics, and economics (Brenner 2004). Various land tenure policies provide an insight to the historical changes and to gauge rapidly changing social and economic landscape in contemporary China. China’s dual land tenure system has become a critical source of debate in China’s rising housing costs and widespread official corruption in land transactions. The dual system of land use reflects the transitional nature of Chinese economic structure that attempts to maintain centralized administrative control over land use and at the same time allows land allocation to those who can pay the highest price for commercial lease. The dual system creates an unparalleled opportunity for widespread corruption and various social problems.

The first author of this chapter would like to express his appreciation for Professor Cai Jiming of Qinghua University, Beijing, China. He was inspired by Professor Cai’s talk on China’s farm land compensation issue at China at a Crossroads: Searching for a Balanced Approach to Development at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts on November 5–6, 2005.

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Authors
  1. Xiaogang Deng
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  2. Lening Zhang
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  3. Andrea Leverentz
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Editor information

Reza Hasmath Jennifer Hsu

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© 2009 Reza Hasmath and Jennifer Hsu

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Deng, X., Zhang, L., Leverentz, A. (2009). The Dual System of Land Use Policy and Its Related Problems in Contemporary China. In: Hasmath, R., Hsu, J. (eds) China in an Era of Transition. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230620155_6

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