“Arable land is the countrys most valuable asset... we should protect it the way we protect pandas.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently urged authorities to implement the strictest rules possible on farmland. He demanded more effective measures to regulate the “land for land” scheme， which requires local governments to make arable an area of land equal to the existing farmland to be appropriated for non-farming purposes.

Chinas arable land stood at two billion mu （about 135.1 million hectares） at the end of 2012， 227 million mu above the“bottom line” set by the government to ensure food security.

“First， what China is doing is only on the islands and reefs that fall within our sovereignty and our control. We are not trying to take back the islands and reefs occupied by others， although we believe such occupation is illegal. Number two， what we are building there is mainly for civilian purposes. Of course， we have facilities for defense purposes –but the main components are for civilian services， which will be rendered to the ships not only of China， but also other countries.... Number three： It was very surprising to us that the United States has overreacted and is escalating the situation. The U.S. is sending military reconnaissance planes to the region and with reporters on board， which is clearly an attempt to provoke and exacerbate matters. The U.S. is also making a lot of statements and false accusations against China， and taking sides in the territorial disputes. This could seriously destabilize the situation in the region.”

Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai made these remarks on the situation in the South China Sea during an interview with Adam Horvath， World Editor of The Wall Street Journal on May 28， 2015.endprint