China is opening up its agriculture industry to corporate¹ farming, a move that could have wide economic and political implications.

中国农业正向大企业农业迈进，此举将产生广泛的经济和政治影响。

That decision may gradually phase out collective farming, which has long been one of the Communist Party's main political levers through a national network of provincial² and county leaders.

这个决定将逐步淘汰集体农业，而集体农业是中国执政党通过遍布全国的省县干部网络实现的主要政治杠杆之一。

China is hoping to entice³ foreign and private capital to invest in the tightly-controlled agricultural sector⁴.

中国希望吸引外国和私人资本投资控制得很紧的农业板块。

State media also notes the policy aims to promote and standardize⁵ the "transfer of the right to use farmland from rural residents to commercial entities⁶."

官方媒体也指出，这项政策旨在促进和规范"农村居民耕地使用权流转到商业实体"的行为。

The plan comes after authorities announced earlier this year that they want to relocate 100 million farmers, about 12 percent of the rural population, into smaller cities.

中国政府今年年初宣布将1亿农民安置到小城市，他们约占农业人口的12%。随后就宣布了这项计划。

The farmland they leave behind could be bundled together into larger tracts⁷ that would be farmed by companies using more modern methods.

他们留下的耕地将被整合成大片土地，由农业企业利用更为现代化的手段耕种。

Under Chinese law, farmers collectively own rural land. Individual farmers are allowed to use the land under a contract system that has been in place since the 1970s.

按照中国法律，农村土地归农民集体所有。每个农民可以按照二十世纪七十年代颁行的承包制来使用土地。

But that system has left vast tracts of Chinese farmland unattended in recent years because of a high level of labor migration⁸ to fast-growing cities.

但是这项制度导致中国近年来农村土地大规模撂荒，因为劳动力都流向了快速发展的城市。

In some cases, local collectives also have been abused by corrupt⁹ local officials who colluded with developers.

在一些地方，腐败官员和开发者勾结，破坏了地方集体所有制。

The government is looking to change this system and use businesses to improve farm productivity.

政府正在寻找改革这个制度的方法，利用企业来提高农业产值。

China is known for its inefficient¹⁰ use of water and fertilizers, which is a problem that could be addressed by new technologies.

众所周知，中国对水和肥料的使用广泛但效率不高，而新技术可以解决这个问题。

"This is going to be a game changer with wide implications both for the economy and the political system," Erlend Ek, agriculture research manager for consulting firm, China Policy, told VOA.

齐纳百思咨询公司农业研究主任埃伦迪·埃克在接受"美国之声"采访时表示："这将对中国的经济和政治制度产生非常广泛的影响。"

"New opportunities are opening up because Chinese authorities are seeking partnerships¹¹ with foreign companies in the field of agriculture technology."

"中国政府开放了新的机会，因为他们在寻求农业技术方面的外国企业合作伙伴。"

But the shift could mark a stark¹² break with the past. During the era of Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong, the party's influence grew out of its efforts to equally distribute land rights by creating co-operatives or collectives of farmers.

但是改变就意味着与过去彻底决裂。在毛泽东主席执政的时代，正是因为在农民中间用集体所有的方式平分土地权利，中共才发展了强大的影响力。

This strategy waned¹³ over the years as China moved toward large-scale industrialization and rapid urbanization.

随着中国迈向大规模工业化和快速城市化，这项策略慢慢失去了强大的影响力。

State media says that there is popular support for switching to corporate farming.

官方媒体称，企业化农业得到了广泛的支持。

"There have been a growing demand from rural residents for transferring farmland to others for management and production," the official Xinhua news agency said adding, "The new policy will lead to the formation of mechanisms¹⁴ that will make the transfer more standardized¹⁵, while land owners' rights will be better protected."

"在管理和生产方面，农村居民把耕地转让给别人的需求越来越大。"新华新闻社补充说道："新政策将构建转让的规范机制，土地所有者的权益将得到更好地保护。"