Zhejiang city selected as pilot for land reform

Chinese government officials have designated Haining, a city in China’s coastal Zhejiang province, as a pilot for reform that would allow for easier sales of collectively owned rural land, South China Morning Post reported. The city is awaiting final approval to promulgate a series of “groundbreaking” policies, which officials described as a “powerful weapon” to spur economic growth. According to officials with knowledge of the reform, rural land for residential use in Haining would hit the property market and allow local farmers to sell houses to developers or urban residents freely as part of an urbanization drive.