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.