An amendment to the Land Management Law was reviewed by the Standing Committee of National People's Congress on Dec 23. It aims to promote implementation of rural land system reform according to the law.

It will no longer be mandatory for nonagricultural construction land in China to be State-owned.

Instead, the draft stipulates that if the overall plan for the use of land is for industrial, commercial or other operational purposes, and the collective construction land is legally registered, the landowners are allowed to assign the ownership of the land to companies or individuals through such means as transfers or leases.

As early as December, 2014, the Central Leading Group for Deepening Reform approved pilot reform of rural land acquisition, which allowed collective construction land for commercial use entering the market and homestead system. In all, 33 counties nationwide including Daxing district in Beijing have been determined as pilot areas.

Experts said the new regulation mainly targets non-residential land for commercial use, which avoids short-term impacts on the commercial housing market. By introducing more land into the market, it will reduce the cost of acquiring land and help reduce the basic price of land.