The reform of rural property rights should be slow rather than urgent

The reform of property rights of rural collective assets is related to the core foundation of national economic development. The issues of agriculture, rural areas and farmers are in a basic position in the overall economic and social development, and have always determined and affected the soundness of reform and opening up. From this point of view, property rights reform should be slow rather than urgent, and the reform can be carried out slowly and carried out in a safe and sustainable manner, but it should not be radical. " He Xuefeng, director of the China Rural Governance Research Center of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, said in an interview with the China Economic Times a few days ago.

Shao Ting, associate researcher of the Market economy Research Institute of the Development Research Center of the State Council, also believes that from the current domestic situation, in order to protect the rights and interests of farmers, the reform of rural collective assets property rights should be a gradual rather than a radical reform. He pointed out that the reform of property rights in rural areas has been piloted at the local level for many years, and Guangdong, Shanghai, Sichuan, Chongqing and other places have rich practical experience. The central government intends to sum up experiences and lessons on the basis of local practical exploration, and refine them, so as to establish the basis for amending the law. He stressed that in the context of simultaneous promotion of industrialization, urbanization and agricultural modernization, better protection of farmers' transfer rights and interests is the key to this reform.

The vast rural areas of our country can be regarded as' stabilizers' and 'cisterns' in China's modernization drive. Therefore, I think that reforms aimed at rural problems and those involving 900 million farmers should give priority to stability. " He Xuefeng told the China Economic Times.

He Xuefeng said that according to China's "Land Management Law", China's rural residential land is obtained free of charge, free use, the implementation of an one-household one-house system. Homestead is arranged to facilitate farmers' agricultural production and rural life. Farmers' housing is built and enjoyed by themselves, and shall not be used for non-agricultural purposes, especially for business purposes. In this sense, farmers' land, including homestead and housing, are not property but basic ancillary facilities for farmers' operation, production and life. The real estate and land of farmers can only be mortgaged and guaranteed as property. In other words, in the past, the right to mainly undertake the function of social security has become the right to enable farmers to realize their land, and the meaning has changed greatly.

He Xuefeng also mentioned that the third Plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee proposed to "give farmers more property rights", "protect farmers' usufruct of homestead, reform and improve the rural homestead system, and choose a number of pilot projects." cautiously and steadily promote the mortgage, guarantee and transfer of farmers' housing property rights, explore ways for farmers to increase property income "and" protect the rights of members of farmers' collective economic organizations, and actively develop farmers' stock cooperation. Give farmers the reform task of share possession, income, paid withdrawal, mortgage, guarantee and inheritance of collective assets. The No. 1 document of the CPC Central Committee in 2014, in addition to emphasizing "prudent and steady progress" at the third Plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, once again stressed the requirement that "relevant departments should promptly put forward specific pilot plans, and that all localities should not go their own way and rush to cross the line." Subsequently, at the fifth meeting of the Central leading Group for comprehensively deepening Reform held on September 29th, General Secretary Xi Jinping reiterated in his speech on the issue of rural land circulation: "in the course of the pilot project, it is necessary to prevent misappropriation of farmers' interests." the pilot work should be strictly restricted within the collective economic organizations. the situation in China's rural areas is very different, and the development of the collective economy is very uneven, so it is necessary to design the system well. We will lay out pilot projects in a targeted manner. " All this also reveals the cautious and scientific attitude of the central government towards reform.

"China's industrial upgrading has not yet been completed, and when cities cannot guarantee decent income and employment conditions for all migrant workers in cities, the reform of property rights of rural collective assets should be cautious." He Xuefeng pointed out that due to the constraints of the current legal framework, although the reform of rural collective assets property rights has put forward a clear pilot direction, the specific process of the pilot still needs to be designed in detail and carefully promoted.

Ma Qingbin, an associate researcher in the research department of the China Center for International Economic Exchange, also agreed. He pointed out that the speed of rural land transfer has accelerated in recent years, but also brought a lot of risks. For example, while "giving farmers the right of possession, income, paid withdrawal, mortgage and guarantee" of collective assets, there must be policies to protect the rights and interests of farmers and the share rate of state-owned capital. if a large number of industrial and commercial enterprises with foreign control enter agricultural land, it is likely to lead to risks such as monopoly of pricing power, which is undoubtedly disadvantageous to the maintenance of economic stability in rural areas and even the whole country. "I suggest that while carrying out the reform of the property rights of rural collective assets to give farmers more rights and seek more benefits for them, we should still pay attention to appropriate planning, respect the wishes of farmers, and carefully grasp the progress of the reform." Ma Qingbin said.

Similarly, Li Guoxiang, deputy director of the Institute of Rural Development of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also stressed that there is no doubt about the significance of the reform of rural collective assets property rights, but for this reform, which directly involves the vital interests of hundreds of millions of farmers, we should give priority to stability and treat it cautiously. "first of all, we should legislate, analyze specifically in the light of the specific situation, gradually improve the implementation, obtain detailed and specific data on the basis of the pilot project, and constantly adjust and implement it according to the actual situation."

Chen Xiaohua, vice minister of agriculture, also said: on the one hand, we should see that with the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization, problems such as unclear ownership of rural collective assets and unclear rights and responsibilities have become increasingly prominent, eroding the foundation of rural collective ownership; but on the other hand, we should also see that this reform is very complex, involving the vital interests of hundreds of millions of farmers and the revision and improvement of many laws and policies. Moreover, the situation in rural areas of our country is very different, and we need to carry out pilot projects to explore ways and methods through pilot projects.