The third‑review draft of the Arable Land Protection and Quality Improvement Law
was submitted on Aug. 25 for third reading at the 24th meeting of the 14th
National People’s Congress Standing Committee. The draft expands requirements on
personnel, funding and compensation; bars any unit or individual from diverting,
occupying or misappropriating funds earmarked for high‑standard farmland
construction; mandates that the state improve a benefit‑compensation mechanism
for major grain‑producing regions, strengthen fiscal transfer payments to
grain‑producing areas and major grain counties, and establish inter‑provincial
horizontal compensation between grain production and consumption provinces; and
adds protections for black soil to prevent net area loss, stop functional
degradation, promote quality improvement and ensure sustainable productive
capacity.
