China’s leaders are pondering how to solve a simmering problem which is increasingly worrying the country’s home owners – what to do when decades-long private leases on land expire.

中国领导人正在仔细考虑如何解决一个酝酿中的、让中国住房所有者越来越担心的问题：几十年年限的土地租约到期后该怎么办。

All mainland Chinese land is state-owned, but use rights for periods ranging from 20 to 70 years have been granted since the 1990s.

中国内地所有土地都归国家所有，不过自上世纪90年代以来，土地使用权可以20年至70年的年限得到出让和转让。

The low end of that range came to national attention in April, when the eastern city of Wenzhou told local homeowners who held 20-year usage rights that they had to pay a third of their homes’ value to renew them.

今年4月，这一年限范围的低端引起了全国的注意。当时，中国东部城市温州向当地拥有20年使用权的住房所有者表示，他们须支付其住房价值的三分之一才能延续其使用权。

That sparked an outcry from middle-class families across the country who have poured their savings¹ into property, the ultimate fate of which has never been fully resolved under Chinese law.

此举引发了已将存款投入房产的全国中产家庭的强烈抗议。在中国的法律框架下，房产的最终命运问题从未得到彻底解决。

The central government’s powerful State Council is researching how to extend usage rights for urban land, according to an official dispatch by the official Xinhua news agency which provided little detail on what measures might be adopted.

根据中国官方新闻机构新华社(Xinhua)发布的一则官方消息，中国国务院正在研究城市土地使用权如何续期的问题。不过，该消息并未透露有关可能采取何种措施的细节信息。

The guidelines, which state media said were published Sunday, appear to pick up on a 2007 property law which asserted land use rights could be renewed, but failed to specify² how that would happen.

官媒表示这一指导意见是在上周日发布的，该指导意见似乎援引了2007年的《物权法》，该法律规定土地使用权可以续期，但未能指出具体如何续期。

They also include exhortations³ to limit the conflicts that arise from ubiquitous government land grabs, as well as calls to grant greater property rights to farmers. But there was no indication Beijing intends to grant farmers full private ownership of their plots, collectively ownership of which enabled local officials to expropriate land in the first place.

该意见还敦促限制无处不在的政府征地引发的冲突，并呼吁赋予农民更多财产权利。不过，没有迹象表明中国政府有意赋予农民对其土地的全部私有权。归根到底，正是对这些土地的集体所有权，令地方官员可以征用土地。