China News Service (CNS) reported that Xu Shaoshi, China’s Minister of Land and Resources, commented that there is a 50% shortage in the supply of land used annually for construction. Xu expected the situation to worsen over the next five years. He suggested that, although China is a large country, only 20% of the land resources are livable. Land suitable for agriculture is very limited as well. This requires the farmland protection system to be very restrictive. Industrialization and urbanization are the primary driving forces behind the ever increasing demand for the land used in construction. Meanwhile effective utilization of land is minimal. Xu believes that establishing more restrictive land-use standards and belt-tightening on the use of land for construction are a must for the future.
Source: China News Service, December 7, 2010
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/estate/2010/12-07/2706715.shtml