Evolution of land system reforms in China: Dynamics of stakeholders and policy transitions toward sustainable farmland use (2004–2019)

China's central government has prioritized land system reforms in rural parts of the country in the past two decades. The transformation of property rights in lands was a significant step for China to pursue the sustainability of farms and permanent food security. The evolution of land system reforms in China involved constant interplay between stakeholders and policy content in terms of policy objectives and instruments, which exhibited various dynamics in different periods. This study adopted a content analysis method to systematically identify the active, passive, and supportive roles of all kinds of stakeholders as well as policy objectives and instruments in the transitional processes of land system reforms in China. We in sum collected 111 policy texts as samples and modeled the relationships of policy keywords. We found Peasants' Households and New Agricultural Business Entities were the most active stakeholders in different periods. Policy objectives are inclined to the stability of legal rights among stakeholders and the scale production of lands, while policy instruments intensively focused on legal regulations with little attention on financial instruments and human resources. We generated two further policy implications, the protection for the exploitation of lands and the involvement of actual operators, based on our findings.