To demarcate permanent basic arable lands is a new concept and method issued by the Third Plenary Session of the Seventeenth Central Committee. This paper macroscopically discusses the demarcation of permanent basic arable lands and presents approaches to basic arable lands construction and protection. The results indicate that the key points in demarcating permanent basic arable lands are to incorporate the large-area, quality and productive arable lands, to focus on urban area and to set up stimulant mechanism.

By means of data review and causality analysis, this paper studies the progress of supplementary quantity and quality of arable lands converted by grade, indicating that it develops through policy proposal, base work and tentative practice. The future shall be focused on its continuity and technical optimization. Now it is appropriate to carry out the supplementary quantity and quality of arable lands converted by grade.

This paper comprehensively analyzes the insufficiencies in protecting and planning the basic farmlands, presents some views regarding the planning system, adjustment principles and controlled partition in the new general land utilization planning. Our study indicates that every national-, provincial-, municipal-, and town-level plannings shall embody the basic farmland layouts which can not be decreased in the mean levels during adjustment. The controlled partition can be classified into two types, the basic farmland protection zone and basic farmland dense zone. Rational farmland layouts and controlled partition are a key means to maintain the scientificity and practicability of planning.