Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan on Friday warned people against cheating in the second national land survey that is to be launched on July 1st.

Every organization and individual should provide or gather accurate land data, and the central government will tolerate no cheating or changing data, Zeng said during a teleconference in Beijing.

He told ministries and local governments that up-to-date and accurate land data will help the government make tough land control measures and promote sound and rapid economic growth and social development.

China conducted the first national land survey between 1984 and 1996. Given the huge changes that have taken place in urban and rural areas, the data are now out of date, the vice premier said.

The primary task of the survey is to obtain information on the acreage, quality and distribution of the arable and basic farmland in the country, he told the meeting.

This will help ensure no decline in the 1.8 billion mu (120 million hectares) of arable land, including the 1.6 million mu of basic farmland that is widely seen as critical to the country's food security, he noted.

Local authorities should finish the survey before the end of June 2009 and report the new land data to the Ministry of Land and Resources on Oct. 31, 2009, said a circular issued by the State Council on Thursday.

The circular said China will use advanced remote imaging technologies to survey land used for different functions including farmland, forests, land used by industry and infrastructure and development parks. Acreages and their distributions will be mapped and recorded nationwide.

China will build an electronic database for all the survey findings and devise statistical and monitoring methods to track changes in land resources, and also set up a system to update the information quickly, said the circular.

The survey will help the government ensure national food security and better protect farmers' interests and thereby bolster social stability, the circular stated.

Source: Xinhua