Property registration vital to protecting rights

Over the past months, new home prices in several major Chinese cities have been pulled down by a rush of motivated secondhand sellers. By most accounts, this throng is believed to be composed of individuals looking to unload ill-gotten properties before the government's centralized real estate registration system comes online.

Many have focused on the system's potential to fight corruption. Yet, its true purpose is safeguarding transaction security and the legal rights of all property owners.

For most ordinary people, their home is their most important and most valuable asset. Yet, laws concerning real estate registration and market oversight have long been absent. The assets of individual citizens must be secured and protected through legal reinforcements, and the government's system is designed to achieve this objective.

Of course, this system can protect not just residential homes. It can cover land, forests, grass lands, waterways and other types of immovable properties. Registering these natural resources is the first step toward preventing their misuse.