Authority stresses farmland protection  

國土資源部：嚴控建設用地占用優質耕地

國土資源部2日在北京稱，為落實最嚴格的耕地保護制度，中國將強化對優質耕地的嚴格管控，嚴控建設用地占用優質耕地。

Beijing (CNS)-- China will exert stricter controls to protect high quality farmland, the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) said Thursday.

Rich stretches of farmland will be under permanent protection, and applications to release land for construction projects will undergo rigorous examination before approvals are granted or denied, stressed Yan Gang, vice head of the Department of Farmland Protection at MLR.

Yan added that to implement the strictest farmland protection policy, the country set a "red line" that guarantees its arable land never shrinks to less than 1.8 billion mu (120 million hectares). Meanwhile land management will be improved by intensifying the monitoring of soil and land conditions.