Allowing industrial firms to access land at market prices and
for a fixed period is the most useful way of improving land-use
efficiency. To some extent, this form of land access resembles
private ownership, except that the period for which the land is
owned in China is less than in Western countries. Thus, adopting
private ownership of a land administrative system may be
the most effective way to improve land-use efficiency. However,
reliance on the markets to allocate land rights would be a great
shock to township enterprises, which were short of fund but have
a positive effect on accelerating rural development and improving
employment of surplus agricultural labor. Furthermore, the
enterprises’ ability to provide employment opportunities does
not depend on whether or not land access rights are obtained at
market prices or not. Therefore, it is necessary to retain a number
of township enterprises that continue to rent land or use land
as a shareholder.