China will stick to its law on land use in an effort to ensure sustainable economic growth and social progress, said Jiang Chunyun, vice-chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee in Beijing January 21.

During a meeting marking the first anniversary of the implementation of the revised Land Use Law, considered as the strictest in the world, Jiang said that arable land has been put under special protection and the illegal use of land has been controlled over the past year since the law was imposed.

The law requires that each province, autonomous region and municipality guarantee that the amount of arable land under their jurisdiction does not decrease, and that land quality is improved at the same time.

Moreover, China imposes tight reins on approving land use for construction. The Land Use Law empowers only the central and provincial governments with approval rights, and raises compensation for land acquisition.

Jiang pointed out that many problems should not be neglected. The arable land is still decreasing in some areas because of construction. And the goal to maintain the total amount of farmland has not been achieved.

Jiang emphasized that the implementation of the Land Use Law and protection of farmland are of great importance to China's sustainable economic and social development in the 21st century.

He said that an understanding of the Land Use Law should be widely spread among Chinese citizens and everybody should be aware of the importance of land protection. Illegal use of land should be punished according to law, he said.