China land supervision official visit to Faculty of Law

A high-level Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources delegation visited the Faculty of Law on 22 September 2009. The delegation was led by Mr. Tianzeng Liu, Director-General of the Nanjing Bureau of State Land Supervision of the ministry, and consisted of other four officials-- Jiaxing Chang, Director-General of Chengdu Bureau of State Land Supervision, Zhiping Liu, Deputy Director-General of Jinan Bureau of State Land Supervision, Kejun Cai, Director-General of Beijing Bureau of State Land Supervision and Guanyin Du, Chief of the State Land Supervision Office of the ministry.

The purpose of the visit was to exchange of experiences and knowledge with the Dutch counterparts on issues of land supervision, inspection and sustainable land management. Coordinated by the Faculty of Law and Centre for Development Studies (CDS), the delegation was warmly received by Prof. Leon Verstappen, Dean of the Faculty of Law, and Prof. Peter Ho, Director of CDS together with staff from the Department of Private and Notarial Law, Department of Public Administration Law and the CDS. The delegates were introduced to the legal, policy and administrative aspects of Dutch land registration and land use planning, which were important to the ongoing reform process of Chinese experiences. Through fruitful discussions, the delegates gained better understanding of the Dutch situation and its relevance for the Chinese context and the cutting-edge issues research issues.

The Chinese delegation also visited the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment (VROM), VROM Inspectorate Groningen Office and Kadaster International during 22-24 September 2009. They had the opportunity to further exchange experiences and have discussions on the Dutch land policy priorities and strategies, practical issues of legislation, law enforcement, policy implementation and the use of information and communication tools in land management at central and local government levels. Two major areas were identified as crucial to bilateral cooperation: sustainable land registration and cadastre management-the legal and institutional dimensions, and land use planning and governance. Further visits by the Chinese officials, experts and scholars to the Netherlands were envisaged, and a more detailed plan of cooperation framework would be needed, according to the discussions on the next five-year plan of action. This would include three major aspects: training of Chinese land officials and experts in Netherlands in sustainable land management law, policy and institution building; promotion of the application of appropriate information and communication technology in land management, and launching of collaborative research projects.

China established 9 regional state land supervision bureaus in 2006 across the country to ensure local compliance of land use laws, policies and plans. Reporting directly to the Ministry of Land and Resources, these bureaus are playing an increasingly important role in safeguarding the state interests in protection of peasant land rights and sustainable land management. The delegation visit was an important step towards international cooperation especially with the RUG and Dutch government. RUG will continue to act as the bridge over the two governments in coordination of bilateral cooperation activities in the coming years.

For further information, please contact Prof. Leon Verstappen, L.C.A.Verstappen rug.nl .