China to funnel more land sales revenue into rural sector

Land sales have been a vital source of revenue for local governments, as they typically acquire land from farmers at knock-down prices and re-sell the land for property and industrial development, triggering protests by farmers. For a long time, land transfer incomes have been mainly used to fund urban and industrial development, leaving only a small proportion for agriculture and rural areas, the cabinet said.

China will raise the share of government land sales revenue that goes into the farming sector and rural areas to more than 50% by 2025, the cabinet said in guidelines published on Wednesday. Land sales have been a vital source of revenue for local governments, as they typically acquire land from farmers at knock-down prices and re-sell the land for property and industrial development, triggering protests by farmers.

For a long time, land transfer incomes have been mainly used to fund urban and industrial development, leaving only a small proportion for agriculture and rural areas, the cabinet said. "We should adjust the urban-rural distribution land transfer income, steadily increase the proportion of land income used for agriculture and rural areas," the guidelines said.