The interaction between local state and village collective in China's market-oriented land reform: a case study in Pidu, Sichuan

This paper examines China's market-oriented reform of rural collective operational construction land (RCOC land), with a focus on the often-overlooked responses of village collectives to land deals. Drawing on fieldwork in Pidu, Sichuan (2017-2021), it analyses how village collectives react to land commodification and interact with the local state. By highlighting the diverse performances of village collectives in less-developed regions, the study contributes to agrarian studies by advancing an interactive perspective on political responses from below, a crucial but underexplored dimension of land commodification.