Land Registration, Property Rights, and Institutional Performance in China : Progress Achieved and Challenges Ahead

The purpose of this article is threefold. First, it aims to present the features of the current land registration system, including the historical and social context in which the system operates. Second, drawing on empirical observations, it attempts to provide a preliminary assessment of institutional performance regarding the land registration system. In many ways, land registration system in urban China can be considered efficient. Third, in view of regulatory overlaps among different departmental rules and between national and local provisions, a policy that strives for a unified registration system at the national level is indispensable to simplify land transactions, to use land as collateral for credit, and to enable land administration. Some of the challenges and uncertainties faced by this policy have been highlighted