In one of the biggest rural transformations in world history, China’s land reforms through the twentieth century involved first the redistribution of farmland, then farming cooperatives, and collectivisation of land under the commune system. In this episode, we speak with Prof. Yan Hairong, a scholar on China’s rural transformations. She explains how, in the decades after the revolution, initial freedoms to sell produce and land, hire labour and charge interest on credit were revoked. And from the late 1970s, a rural reform programme dismantled the communes, decollectivised farming and vested use rights to land in households. Now, as a major industrial power, China’s land continues to be owned at village level, and cannot be sold, but families can rent out their use rights - which has seen the emergence of agribusinesses in rural areas. In the largest labour migration in the world, over 200 million people from the countryside work in cities, but retain rights to their rural land.

Land, labour migration and pathways of change in rural China

In this episode  we continue our discussion with Yan Hariong, exploring China's 'Going Out policy.' Our guest delves into the intricate linkages between China and other developing countries, highlighting concerns regarding the rebalancing of global geopolitical power. With China's surplus capacity and its reliance on export markets for development, we witness a new geopolitical moment amidst the expansion of the BRICS alliance. The context of China's global engagement intersects with neoliberalism, a framework historically imposed by Western institutions. However, the emergence of China as a major player challenges conventional expectations. Examining China's involvement in Africa, we consider whether its actions amount to neocolonialism or simply reflect participation in global capitalism, offering investment opportunities that may be more appealing to African nations.

China’s ‘Going Out’ Policy And Global Agrarian Change

The Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) is an independent Policy Research Institute within the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of the Western Cape.

Land, labour migration and pathways of change in rural China

PLAAS

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