China cracks down on land development infractions

BEIJING: China will conduct a five-month-long campaign aimed at reining in illegal land speculation and development, state media reported, adding to government efforts to cool the country's heady property market.

An official from China's Ministry of Land and Resources said the crackdown would target developers who use land for unapproved purposes, unlawfully build townhouses and over-sized housing, and "accumulate land for speculation", the official Xinhua news agency reported late on Thursday.

"Uses of land contrary to laws and regulations must be resolutely investigated and punished according to the law," the report said, citing a Ministry directive.

The campaign, which will run from March to July, is the latest of the Chinese government's repeated, and often previously unsuccessful, efforts to deter illegal property development and cool what officials fear is an overheated real estate market skewed to high-end housing.

The crackdown could add to the tools available to officials seeking to temper the property market and provide more affordable housing.

Property investments constitute about 10 percent of China's gross domestic product.-Reuters