Chinese Government Vows to Protect Farmers’ Rights to Collective Land Ownership

(Beijing) — Farmers can retain rights to their collectively owned land even when they choose to resettle in cities, according to a key central government document aimed at assuring farms’ rights amid the government’s new urbanization push.

The State Council and the General Office of the ruling Communist Party released a set of recommendations on Sunday in a bid to seek a clearer definition of the ownership of rural land, the rights to its use, and the property owners’ transferring of land-use rights.