Land acquisition compensation in China - problems & answers

Since the introduction of the ‘open door’ policy in 1978, China has made significant progress in all aspects. Rapid economic development has sped up the urbanisation of the country. In 1995, there were 640 cities in China. At the end of 1999 the number increased to 667. The high rate of urbanisation has led to great demand for land for infrastructure and property developments. In order to obtain more developable land, the government has implemented various measures, including compulsory land acquisitions to meet the demand. In 1995, about 812 km2 of land was acquired by the government. In 1999, the amount of land acquired was about 340 km2. Although this indicates a falling trend, the amount of land acquired was still very substantial. Land acquisition in China is carried out according to the provisions of the People’s Republic of China Land Administration Law. At present, the law does not address the issue of just compensation to the affected people, and has caused great discontent. This paper attempts to identify the problems and suggests recommendations for improvement.