Land utilization in China: Its problems and prospect

Abstract

China's agricultural production has made obvious advances during the last 40 years. The developments in farm construction work, water conservancy projects, reclamation, innovation in croping systems, the planting of shelter belts, and above all, reform in ownership and organization, etc., all have contributed to the increase of agricultural production, and all play a role in the transformation of land utilization in China. The degree of utilization of land resources reflects the scale and level of economic development, particularly agricultural development at the national and regional levels. And rational development, proper utilization and effective protection of land resources, adapting to the physical, social and economic conditions of various areas, is closely linked with the structure of the national economy. To allocate land appropriately among the different sectors so as to achieve maximum economic benefit with minimum input of labour, financial and material resources, satisfying the growing social needs and improving the ecological environment is a problem that requires much study. It has been a heated topic in the Chinese geographical circles. To let the outside world know more of the opening up China, it seems helpful to make a general review of the status, problems and prospects of land utilization in China.