Twenty years ago, County A and County B both set their sights on the same company.

County A offered 100 mu of land in exchange for investment; County B offered 200 mu at zero land cost.

In the past, it was not uncommon for land resources to be sacrificed in the name of GDP growth.

What went around has come around. Economic growth has led to the dilemma of inefficient land use across the country.

Today, the role of land in investment promotion has completely changed from the past; many regions have now positioned industrial land as a key driver for industrial upgrading and efficient investment attraction.

Following the 20th National Congress, the real economy has once again become the focal point of development, and industrial land—the foundation for real economic growth—has garnered significant attention.

Policies and practices for optimizing industrial land use at both the national and local levels continue to innovate and evolve...

Pursuing Both Goals Without Falling Behind

Chen Gang, Secretary of the Qinghai Provincial Party Committee, once remarked during his tenure in Xiong’an: “The Xiong’an New Area will not rely on preferential policies or low land prices to ‘poach businesses from Beijing.’”

This statement foreshadowed the major trend in industrial land use: every inch of land should be made to yield maximum value.

In December 2022, the Ministry of Natural Resources issued the “Notice on Improving Industrial Land Supply Policies to Support the Development of the Real Economy.”

With this policy adjustment, the future supply of industrial land will shift from a model dominated by land grants to one centered on leasing.

For some time, certain regions have been exploring and developing land supply models such as long-term leases, “lease-to-own” arrangements, and flexible land grants. The “Notice” further clarifies the specifics of these supply methods.

The ultimate goal is to “transform the approach to industrial land use and reduce enterprises’ initial costs.”

Land has always been a crucial resource for enterprise production. To achieve the optimal allocation of production factors, we must better integrate an effective market with an active government.

With the "visible hand" of policy in place, the "invisible hand" of the market is also functioning effectively.

Land supply methods for industrial use have also evolved in response to market trends.

New Approaches, Blazing New Trails

Although concepts such as “output per mu,” “standard plots,” and “new types of industrial land” may seem like “old hat,” they have sprouted “new shoots” through the process of innovation and iteration across various regions.

01: Further Innovation in M-Type Land

While other regions were still pondering how to effectively implement M0 new industrial land, Guangzhou has already introduced a novel concept: land for emerging industrial parks (M9).

M9 first appeared last November in the management guidelines on supporting land use for emerging industrial parks issued by Guangzhou’s Nansha District.

To clarify, M9 land offers a richer array of industrial functions and supporting services compared to M0 land, effectively serving as an upgraded version.

In addition to R&D, creativity, design, pilot production, pollution-free manufacturing, and settlement operations, it also incorporates lighter-weight functions such as branding and marketing.

M9 land is primarily intended for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are energy-efficient, low-pollution, high-value-added, and have strong growth potential.

It is worth noting that M9 land can be supplied as a whole through public auctions that include design proposals, and multiple SMEs are permitted to form consortia to bid for the land by signing joint bidding agreements.

SMEs are not only users of industrial land but also planners, capable of mobilizing social capital on a broader scale.

It is evident that, whether as the primary target audience or as land bidders, SMEs have more opportunities and platforms available to them. This also reflects how the industrial investment promotion strategy for M9 land is shifting from “manufacturing” toward “R&D and office operations.”

It is not just Guangzhou; cities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang that are keen on “technology-driven investment promotion” can similarly use this as a lever to provide platforms and services for SMEs.

02 Blazing a New Trail with “Output Per Mu”

In recent years, Anhui has been seeking breakthroughs and innovative approaches in investment promotion. Zhejiang’s pioneering “output-per-mu” model has also blossomed into new forms on Anhui’s soil.

As the name suggests, the “Output-Per-Mu Hero Loan” is an innovative integration of finance and the “output-per-mu” evaluation system.

Anhui has introduced the nation’s first upgraded special policy, organizing banks and county-level districts to carry out paired services for the “Per-Mu Hero Loan.”

It can be said that the “Output-Per-Mu Hero Loan” represents a new force in financial support for the real economy, divided into corporate loans and project loans.

Enterprise loans provide a “green channel” for Class A, B, and C enterprises, offering tailored credit facilities such as per-mu credit loans, compensation loans, order-based loans, guaranteed loans, and mortgage loans.

Project loans, on the other hand, are medium- to long-term loans issued to Category D enterprises and low-efficiency enterprises that meet the requirements of the “replacing old industries with new ones” strategy.

All these support measures aim to “make the strong stronger and transform the weak into the strong.”

Across Anhui, localities are actively exploring ways to integrate talent policies with the “Heroes by Acreage” initiative, prioritizing the placement of recruited talent in Class A and B enterprises; issuing service green cards to Class A enterprises; and selecting outstanding entrepreneurs from Class A enterprises to join the Entrepreneurs’ Hall of Fame…

Cross-sector collaboration and circular utilization have elevated the meaning and implementation of the “output-per-mu” evaluation system to new heights.

03 The “Land Supermarket” Goes Viral

The "Land Supermarket" is a platform that transparently publishes land information, allowing enterprises to select plots on demand just as they would shop in a supermarket, thereby transforming land acquisition into a "shopping experience."

Hainan pioneered the “Land Supermarket,” integrating information aggregation, query and publication, intelligent site selection, platform development, expedited land transfer, and routine supervision into a single system.

Following Hainan’s lead, the “Land Supermarket” in Fushan District, Yantai, Shandong, officially launched at the end of 2022, significantly reducing project implementation timelines and maximizing project efficiency and speed.

However, the “Land Supermarket” serves both enterprises and the government. While a convenient platform is certainly important, having a sufficient supply of high-quality “inventory” is even more critical.

Fushan District has integrated the “Land Supermarket” with the “Standard Land” initiative, prioritizing the use of existing idle and underutilized land, and pursuing a dual-track approach of ensuring land resource availability and enabling projects to commence construction immediately upon approval.

In Conclusion

A thriving real economy leads to a strong nation. As the real economy grows increasingly vital, many key projects critical to economic development require ever-greater amounts of land, while land resources become increasingly scarce. Consequently, the security and supply of industrial land have become pivotal to the development of the real economy.

Amid the wave of industrial relocation and corporate relocation and site reclamation, industrial land use must leverage both market forces and government intervention to balance the needs of both the present and the future of development.