Marketization of Collective-owned Rural Land: A Breakthrough in Shenzhen, China

This study focuses on analyzing the ongoing land policy reform that allows collective-owned rural land transactions in the open market in Shenzhen, China. Employing a case study method, we investigate this land policy evolution through description and contextual analysis. We argue that the existing dual-track land administration system, within which the state administers market transactions, has contributed to numerous social problems, such as urban land scarcity, inefficiency of land resource allocation, and exacerbated social injustice. Following the recent actions of the central government, a collective-owned rural land parcel in Shenzhen was officially transferred in November 2013, an action viewed as a landmark step in reforming the current dual-track land system. Though the generalization of Shenzhen’s experiment nationwide faces significant barriers, Shenzhen’s breakthrough in liberalization of the rural land market indicates that China is moving toward a potential new round of land policy revolution.