"Land should be supplied on a much stricter basis," Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said at a State Council meeting that discussed the third revision of the national land use plan, which was held in Beijing on Tuesday. 

The revised plan aims to provide a "golden rule" for land management and urban-rural construction until 2020. 

The revision will be based on thorough field surveys and an objective evaluation of existing land resources. Policy appraisal and topical workshops will also be included in the preparatory work, according to Sun Wensheng, minister of land and resources.

The mode of land use should be shifted to "intensive" from "extensive," since China faces issues both of a large population and a shortage of land, Zeng said. 

Sun said all provincial branches are to wrap up their evaluations of existing development plans by December and to compile all data and field survey reports by next March. 

Sun also stressed that current land development plans remain valid and must be faithfully realized. 

"No departments or individuals are allowed to change their original plans without prior approval from higher authorities," he added. 

China has revised its national land use plan twice since 1986.

"China is developing so rapidly that the previous plan that has already been in use for eight years needs updating," Sun said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2005)