Land Use Rights in China: An Illustration with Mining Activities

Lu Hong, Senior Legal Counsel, Lafarge Mep, China

The use of land in China has been a hot topic since the opening-up of the Chinese economy some 30 years ago. An interesting feature of the land system in China is how the Chinese government has worked around the concept of private property (which is still not recognised in China as regards land) to propose a comprehensive framework, which can be considered similar to some of the principles used in other modern economies. However, because land is an important resource in China, the Chinese land legal framework tends to be rather intricate and subject to a heavy bureaucracy.

Lafarge (Euronext: LG) is a French industrial company specialising in four major products: cement, aggregates, concrete and gypsum. It is the world leader in building materials and currently (2009) the world's largest cement manufacturer ahead of Holcim.