By Zhang Junkuo & Zhang Yunhua, DRC

2017-04-27

Some prominent problems keep popping up in the rural development today. It is difficult for the current rural homestead system to meet the needs of national modernization drive and urban-rural integrated development, making it necessary to accelerate related reform. The general approach of reform should be “sticking to collective ownership, focusing on transfer of utilization right, and conducting systematic supportive reforms”.

Under the current homestead system, rural development faces the following three prominent problems. 1. The idle land resources relating to rural homesteads and residential areas have made it difficult for these resources to be fully used. 2. The rural housing property right for farmers fails to be realized, and the systematic discrepancy and right inequality have created a huge gap between rural and urban residents in the value of housing property. 3. The building of rural public facilities lacks funds, leaving the villages dilapidated.

In the new development stage, it is necessary to deepen reform of rural homestead system. 1. We need to flesh out the reform of rural homestead system to improve the socialist market economic mechanism and promote the reform of market-based rural land factors. 2. We need to empower farmers with more financial rights through reform of rural homestead system so as to increase their property value and income. 3. We need to press ahead with the reform of rural homestead system to achieve an integrated urban-rural development, and ensure livable rural construction.

The government needs to vitalize the homestead utilization right transfer and proceed with relevant reforms and the building of supportive systems. 1. Efforts need to be made to make flexible adjustment in the homestead utilization right transfer and establish rural homestead trading market. 2. The homestead welfare distribution system needs to be transformed into a comprehensive residential security system for farmers, so as to further reinforce the rural social security network. 3. The government needs to formulate the system of taxes and fees for homestead utilization and rural housing transaction, so as to replenish the funding for rural construction and development. 4. The voluntary exit mechanism with compensation relating to rural homesteads needed to be established to coordinate the utilization of the unused residential land. 5. It is necessary to plan and regulate the use of rural homesteads as well as rural building, and establish the planning and service system for rural construction. 6. The government needs to delimit the boundary line of rural collective ownership, and improve the membership system for rural collectivity and the urban and rural residence permit system.