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The ela ionship be ween p ope y igh s
and labo
The co e cha ac e is ic o China's socialis economy is i s unique
socialis p i a e p ope y igh s sys em. In eali y, China does no
ha e p i a e p ope y igh s; land owne ship belongs o he Cen al
People's Go e nmen . The so-called unique p i a e p ope y igh s
sys em is me ely a leasehold sys em, wi h lease e ms anging om
40 o 70 yea s. The e o e, China lacks o p i a e p ope y igh s,
only leasehold igh s, which is sligh ly in e io o he pe manen land
igh s in places like he UK, he US, Japan, and Aus alia [1].
The lease e m o comme cial buildings, such as o ice buildings, is
40 yea s; while he lease e m o esiden ial buildings, such as
houses, is 70 yea s, he e o e he land-use igh s a e g an ed o a
e m (commonly 40-50 yea s o comme cial land), and he land
owne ship is Cen al-owned (u ban) o collec i e-owned ( u al),
which may au oma ically enewed upon expi a ion. As o why he
e m is se a 70 yea s, he e a e many di e en opinions. Some
people belie e ha he e m o 70 yea s is he a e age li e
expec ancy o Chinese people a ha ime, so he lease e m is
limi ed o 70 yea s [2].
In p ope y igh s heo y, we mus emphasize h ee impo an
cha ac e is ics: i s , he igh o own; second, he igh o ans e ;
and hi d, he igh o income. Wi hou any one o hese unc ions, i
canno be conside ed p i a e p ope y igh s; hey a e all
indispensable. In ou esea ch a icle, we in oduce an impo an
concep ha many bodies a en’ awa e o : ime. The e o e, he
ou h key concep is he ole o ime in land-use igh s. The
owne ship o a building lies in he abili y o exe cise he igh o
income, ha is, he igh o en ou o ans e he p ope y o
income. I he igh o income o ans e he p ope y canno be
exe cised, i canno be said ha he owne has owne ship o he
p ope y.
China's unique socialis p i a e p ope y sys em includes he
meaning o upholding public owne ship, and he public owne ship
o land also means ha he powe belongs o he cen al people's
go e nmen [3].
In his sense, he pa ializa ion o p ope y igh s has somewha
es ic ed labo o ce de elopmen , a leas in China's household
egis a ion sys em, which es ic s labo mobili y o some ex en . O
cou se, some may a gue ha household egis a ion and p ope y
The Rela ionship Be ween P ope y Righ s, Land Owne ship & Labo
Lie Chun Pong
Sch: HKUST
Co esponding Au ho : Lie Chun Pong
Sch: HKUST
In ecen yea s, he e ec s on p i a e p ope y igh s and he ole o he concep in labo u iliza ion ha e become impo an
opics o s udy. This esea ch a icle will i s explo e he socialis economy wi h Chinese cha ac e is ics and he p i a e
p ope y sys em unde socialism, hen analyze how hese sys ems in e ac wi h he labo o ce.
KEY WORDS: P ope y Righ s, P i a e P ope y Righ s, Labo Fo ce, Chinese Socialism.
Abb e ia ed Key Ti le: UAI J Econ Bus Manag.
ISSN: 3049-2777 (Online)
Jou nal Homepage: h ps://uaipublishe .com/
Volume- 1 Issue- 6 (No embe -Decembe ) 2025
F equency: Bimon hly
Resea ch Pape
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DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17708472
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igh s a e no necessa ily ela ed, bu i 's impo an o unde s and
ha wi hou household egis a ion, one canno buy a house.
The e o e, he pa ializa ion o p i a e p ope y igh s does indeed
es ic labo mobili y o some ex en , which in u n limi s economic
g ow h.
S udies [4] indica e ha eleasing land owne ship and allowing
enan a me s o own hei own land can e ec i ely imp o e
p oduc i i y. In Chinese enan a ming heo y, i is poin ed ou ha
di iding he land in o equal pa s can e ec i ely inc ease a me s'
en husiasm and ag icul u al ou pu . Howe e , in he long un, he
pa ial owne ship o p ope y igh s will g adually e eal i s inhe en
de ec s, because enan a me s do no ha e he igh o en ou hei
land and canno enjoy he income om en ing ou hei land.
Mo eo e , unde he people's commune sys em a ha ime,
ag icul u al ha es s also had o be handed o e and dis ibu ed
equally, so he p oduc i i y o labo g adually declined [5].
O cou se, he socialis p i a e p ope y igh s sys em wi h Chinese
cha ac e is ics also has i s ad an ages. Fo example, i can mo e
e icien ly eo ganize land in la ge-scale u ban planning o mee he
needs o na ional de elopmen . This is mo e e icien han he
comple e p i a e p ope y igh s sys em in Eu ope and he Uni ed
S a es. I can in eg a e land and p omo e he s anda dized
de elopmen o p ope y igh s in he o m o a planned economy.
The gene a ion o a apid wo k o ce is inex icably linked o he land
sys em, especially a he ounding o he People's Republic o China.
Equalizing land owne ship eed ensla ed peasan s and es ablished
he co e o he na ion-building p ocess [5].
While apid land equaliza ion ini ially e ec i ely eleased he
p oduc i e capaci y o he wo k o ce, in he la e s ages, i s inhe en
laws led o p oblems such as he dissipa ion o en alue.
Ul ima ely, hese issues could only be esol ed h ough u he land
e o m.
Land consolida ion o en leads o a ious con lic s and inciden s.
The eason why people ush o de end hei igh s is ac ually due o
he unclea de ini ion o p i a e p ope y igh s. The de ini ion o
p i a e p ope y igh s is o en le o adminis a i e guidance. Too
much adminis a i e guidance inc eases ansac ion cos s. Mo eo e ,
his only makes he de ini ion o p i a e land p ope y igh s mo e in
line wi h he p oblem o incomple e p i a e p ope y igh s. In ac ,
making i mo e in line wi h ac ion only delays he p oblem.
The e o e, how o deal wi h he p i a e p ope y igh s sys em and
he public owne ship sys em is an a o balance.
Compa ed o Eu ope and he Uni ed S a es, China is mo e e icien
in land de elopmen . Eu ope and he Uni ed S a es ha e comple e
pe manen land igh s, so land consolida ion is slowe because
landowne s ha e he igh no o ans e he land. Eu ope and he
Uni ed S a es gene ally p o ec landowne s. China is mo e
ou s anding in land consolida ion.
The e o e, whe he cla i ying p i a e p ope y igh s can e ec i ely
educe en dissipa ion is a opic wo hy o s udy. Howe e , di e en
coun ies ha e di e en de elopmen ajec o ies, and hei
de elopmen models a e no en i ely he same. The e o e, we canno
gene alize and say ha any pa icula sys em is he bes way o
elease labo . Ins ead, we should explo e wha cons i u es op imal
esou ce ope a ion. As o human esou ces, i we can ully u ilize
labo , unleash i s po en ial, and allow i o gi e ull play o i s
s eng hs, ha would be a mo e wo hy opic o s udy.
The co e mechanism o China's unique socialis economic sys em is
i s dis inc i e concep o leasing igh s, while owne ship esides wi h
he Go e nmen [6].
The in e p e a ion o land owne ship es s wi h he go e nmen . Due
o he pa ial na u e o p i a e p ope y igh s, his p ima ily elies
on adminis a i e guidance, wi h he in e p e a ion powe
concen a ed a he cen al le el. Howe e , his sys em is
ad an ageous o a planned economy bu disad an ageous o he
indi idual economy.
The go e nmen 's lexible exe cise o land use allows o e icien
land u iliza ion, bu i s d awback is insu icien p o ec ion o
indi idual households' p i a e p ope y igh s and ine ec i e
sa egua ding o hei in e es s.
Mo eo e , he co e o p ope y igh s is e lec ed in he spi i o
con ac s. This is impo an no only o p ope y igh s bu also o
labo . Respec ing he spi i o con ac s ensu es ha bo h employe s
and employees a e ully p o ec ed. O cou se, excessi e
adminis a i e guidance can inc ease ansac ion cos s and is no
conduci e o he de elopmen o bo h pa ies.
This a icle sugges s s a ing wi h ex ending p ope y igh s,
ex ending he lease e m o comme cial land owne ship om 40
yea s o 50 yea s.
Fu he mo e, ex ending he lease e m o p i a e esiden ial
p ope y owne ship om he cu en 70 yea s o 80 yea s would
enhance o eign in es o s' con idence in in es ing in he Chinese
economy. Imp o ing p ope y lease e ms would also mo e
e ec i ely inc ease people's sense o belonging, as housing is linked
o li e expec ancy. Ensu ing ha he elde ly ha e suppo and ca e
would p omo e a mo e ul illing and peace ul li e.
The enhancemen o comme cial p ope y lease igh s is mo e
conduci e o comme cial in es men and de elopmen , which in
u n leads o o eign in es men hi ing mo e wo ke s, c ea ing a
mu ually bene icial cycle. Ex ending land lease igh s helps boos
he con idence o indus y and comme ce, and u he p omo es he
imp o emen o labo con ac s, o ming a s able in es men
ecosys em and p omo ing a i uous cycle o employmen and
housing. This is c ucial o he long- e m s abili y o he na ional
economy.
In addi ion, he ex ension and enhancemen o comme cial p ope y
lease igh s se e as a s a egic mechanism o a ac and acili a e
inc eased le els o domes ic and o eign di ec in es men wi hin he
comme cial eal es a e sec o . This egula o y amewo k
incen i izes in es o s by p o iding g ea e secu i y and
p edic abili y, he eby os e ing a mo e a o able en i onmen o
capi al in lows. Such policies a e ins umen al in s imula ing eal
es a e de elopmen ac i i ies and expanding employmen
oppo uni ies ac oss ancilla y indus ies. Ex ending land lease igh s
no only bols e s in es o con idence bu also incen i izes
pa icipa ion in long- e m economic planning, which can lead o he
ad ancemen o mo e comp ehensi e labo con ac ual
a angemen s. These a angemen s con ibu e o he s abili y and
esilience o he b oade in es men ecosys em, encou aging
sus ainable de elopmen and economic di e si ica ion. Mo eo e ,
his elaxa ion app oach plays a i al ole in es ablishing a i uous
cycle in which inc eased employmen , imp o ed housing
a ailabili y, and sus ained economic g ow h mu ually ein o ce one
ano he . Consequen ly, hese de elopmen s a e essen ial o ensu ing
he mac oeconomic s abili y and long- e m g ow h p ospec s o he
na ional economy, aligning wi h s a egic economic objec i es such
as isk mi iga ion, in as uc u al de elopmen , and enhanced global
compe i i eness. Tha will a o he long un labo de elopmen .
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DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17708472
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In-conclusion:
Only a sys em ha espec s p i a e p ope y igh s and os e s a
lexible business en i onmen can c ea e a s able labo ecosys em. A
i uous cycle o employmen and housing is essen ial o consis en
na ional de elopmen . Hope his esea ch a icle can con ibu e o
he wo ld and i s ci izens.
Re e ences:
1. Ho, P. (2001). Who Owns China's Land? Policies,
P ope y Righ s, and Delibe a e Ins i u ional Ambigui y.
De elopmen and Change.
2. Zhang, M. (2008). The Newly Enac ed Chinese P ope y
Law and he P o ec ion o P ope y Righ s in China.
SSRN Elec onic Jou nal.
3. Han, L. (2023). P o ec ing P ope y Righ s Unde S a e
Owne ship: E idence om China. Wes mon College.
4. Shen, Weixing. (2010). Cons uc ing a Chinese P ope y
Law Based on he Balance Be ween Public and P i a e
Righ s. Cen e o Roman and I alian Law S udies.
5. Yang, H. H. (2012). The Impac o Changing Ag icul u al
Technology on Land Tenancy in P eindus ial China.
SSRN Elec onic Jou nal.
6. Jiang, X. (2023). On P o ec ion o P i a e P ope y.
Renmin Uni e si y o China. 45(3), 2543-2556. DOI:
10.12677/ojls.2023.114364.
