Land use in China is in for irretrievable change. At the Third Plenum of the 16th Party Congress, held October 11-14, 2003, the world's biggest communist country promised to protect private property and allow farmers to amass large land holdings. According to state-run television, these decisions were part of a package to "perfect several issues in the socialist market economic system.' These decisions will now be sent to the Standing Committee of China's legislature, which will turn them into law.

The plenum, presided over by President Hu Jintao and attended by 188 members and 154 alternates of the Central Committee