Local govt to phase out land requisition in urbanization

WASHINGTON - As China pushes for new urbanization reform, local governments will phase out land requisition, a Chinese expert told a seminar of the ongoing International Monetary Fund-World Bank Spring Meetings on Friday.

Real land reform requires more than words?

China's new urbanization drive requires "a phase-out of the land requisition system," which means the government will freeze land requisition practices step by step, said Yupeng He, a professor with the Development Research Center of the State Council of China.

"Land prices will be determined by the market, so farmers will be compensated at prices not set by the government but by the market," he said, adding "land requisition finally will be only confined to those lands for public uses."

He also said land reform must be done with great caution and it cannot be successful without reforming the financial system to support local governments if land revenues are gone.

"That has to be handled with care," said Klaus Rohland, World Bank country director for China. "But we believe it can be handled."