China’s fragmented, smallholder-based land rights system is often seen as an obstacle to agricultural modernization and the fostering of large-scale, mechanized agribusinesses. In its overriding plan of rural revitalization, the Chinese government aims to promote comprehensive land rights reforms, stimulating farmland upscaling and the utilization of unexploited arable land.
The study provides an overview of the several rounds of land reforms China has implemented over the past decades, assesses their impact on agricultural modernization, and discusses the benefits and challenges of introducing more market-based land rights.
Author: Xiangqi Liu (Tianjin Agricultural University)
