China's central government recently issued policies enabling land to be tradable, which means land quotas can be sold to sprawling cities, according to Xinhua news agency.

A decade ago, China set the arable land minimum across the country at 1.2 million square kilometers to ensure food safety and land preservation. The compulsory limit bars cities from seizing arable land, yet potentially weakens urbanization. The headwind gets stronger in recent years, when more cities find fewer lands available to build apartments on. In contrast, poor areas are financially strained to develop their abundant land resources.

The newly issued quota system eases the tension by allowing the reallocation of land quotas among provinces and permitting a quota exchange. As a result, the money paid by sprawling cities for rising infrastructure and accommodation will financially help beef up farming efficiency and the agricultural industry in distant rural areas.