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The paper aims to investigate land conversion as a result of urban–rural transformation in the Chinese context. Theoretical analysis and empirical study of the Bohai Rim region find strong connections between the land conversion rates and urban–rural transformation intensity in the period 2000–2010. Rapid land conversion normally takes place in counties/districts of low initial level of urban–rural transformation. However, places of high initial socioeconomic level and low transformation intensity would experience slow land conversion. The different land conversion rates in relation to urban–rural transformation intensity are mainly attributed to the China's land quotas distribution system which is subjective and administrative. The study highlights the implementation of land quotas distribution system based on differences to improve the land distribution efficiency and achieve balanced regional development in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has undergone a dramatic transition echoed the unprecedented urbanization and economic growth since the late 1970s. The current research on urbanization has overlooked the transformation consistency between urban and rural areas. Although the Chinese central government has focused on improving rural residents' livelihood, it is still far from achieving coordinated urban–rural development. This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of China's urban–rural development transformation (URDT) based on three indicator systems, namely the urban–rural development level (URDL), the urban–rural structure level (URSL), and the urban–rural coordination level (URCL). Findings from this investigation show that universal and intense URDT has taken place in China over the last two decades. This has been accompanied by growth of URDL and URSL and deterioration of URCL. There are, however, obvious spatial disparities in the different aspects of URDT. The western and northeastern regions of China have experienced slower transformation than other regions between 1990 and 2010. Correlation analysis among the sub-index shows that coordinated urban–rural development needs a certain initial socioeconomic level and moderate changes of URDL and URSL. This paper suggests that more attentions should be paid to rural areas and lagging areas in central and western China. Given the regional disparities of URDT, the most effective way to achieve urban–rural integration in China is by taking the overall considerations of development policies of both region and urban–rural areas aimed at various urban–rural development transformation characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]