Civil Code: National, Collective, or Private Ownership

(These clauses are selected from The Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China translated and authored by Steve Li and Robert Zhang, international arbitration lawyers registered in Shanghai, China, and published by Kindle Unlimited. No reproduction is allowed unless authorized by the authors.)
 
Chapter V National, Collective, or Private Ownership
Article 246 Any property owned by the State according to law shall be nationally owned by all the people of the People's Republic of China.
The State Council shall exercise the ownership of nationally-owned property on behalf of the State unless otherwise specified by law.
Article 247 Mineral resources, inland waters, and territorial waters shall be owned by the State.
Article 248 Uninhabited islands shall be owned by the State, and the ownership of uninhabited islands shall be exercised by the State Council on behalf of the State.
Article 249 Urban lands shall be owned by the State. Lands in rural or suburban areas nationally owned according to law shall be owned by the State.
Article 250 Forests, mountains, grasslands, uncultivated lands, intertidal zones, and other natural resources, except those owned by collective entities according to law, shall be owned by the State.
Article 251 Wildlife resources nationally owned according to law shall be owned by the State.
Article 252 Radio spectrum resources shall be owned by the State.
Article 253 Cultural relics nationally owned according to law shall be owned by the State.
Article 254 Assets for national defense shall be owned by the State.
Railways, highways, power facilities, telecommunications facilities, oil and gas pipelines, and other infrastructures nationally owned according to law shall be owned by the State.
Article 255 A national authority may possess and use the real and personal properties directly under its control and dispose of them in accordance with laws and the applicable regulations of the State Council.
Article 256 A public institution set up by the State may possess and use the real and personal properties directly under its control and profit from and dispose of them in accordance with laws and the applicable regulations of the State Council.
Article 257 With respect to a State-funded enterprise, the State Council or the competent local people's government shall respectively perform the duties and be entitled to the rights and interests as the contributor on behalf of the State in accordance with laws and administrative regulations.
Article 258 Nationally-owned property shall be protected by law and shall not be usurped, plundered, embezzled, withheld, or destroyed by any entity or individual.
Article 259 An entity or individual performing the duties of managing and supervising nationally-owned property shall strictly and effectively manage and supervise the property to promote the preservation and appreciation of its value and prevent any damage or loss and shall be held legally responsible according to law for damage to or loss of the property due to its abuse of power or gross negligence.
Any entity or individual shall be held legally responsible in case of damage to or loss of the nationally-owned property incurred due to its transfer at a low price, collusive embezzlement, unauthorized creation of security interest, or any other malpractice in violation of the provisions applicable to the management of nationally-owned property, in the process of corporate restructuring, merger, consolidation, division, or related-party transaction.
Article 260 Collectively-owned real and personal properties shall include:
(1) lands, forests, mountains, grasslands, uncultivated lands, and beaches collectively owned according to law;
(2) buildings, production facilities, and water conservancy facilities owned by collective entities;
(3) facilities for educational, scientific, cultural, health, sports, and other purposes owned by collective entities; and
(4) other real and personal properties owned by collective entities.
Article 261 Real and personal properties owned by a rural collective entity shall be owned by all the members of such collective entity.
Any of the following issues shall be decided by the members of the collective entity according to the procedures specified by law:
(1) land tenancy plans and award of land tenancy agreements to entities or individuals other than the members of the collective entity itself;
(2) adjustments of tenanted lands for agriculture between and among the tenants;
(3) terms of the use and distribution of land compensations and other payments;
(4) change in ownership and other issues of a business invested by the collective entity; and
(5) any other issues specified by law.
Article 262 The ownership of collectively-owned lands, forests, mountains, grasslands, uncultivated lands, and intertidal zones shall be exercised as follows:
(1) In the case of ownership by a villagers' collective entity, the ownership shall be exercised by the collective economic organization or the villagers' committee of the village on behalf of such entity according to law;
(2) In the case of ownership by two or more villagers' collective entities, the ownership shall be exercised by their respective economic organizations or villagers' groups on behalf of such entities according to law; and
(3) In the case of ownership by a rural collective entity at the township level, the ownership shall be exercised by the collective economic organization at the township level on behalf of such entity.
Article 263 An urban collective entity may possess, use, profit from, and dispose of its real and personal properties in accordance with laws and administrative regulations.
Article 264 A rural collective economic organization, villager's committee or villagers' group shall make the information on the collectively-owned property under its management available to its members in accordance with laws, administrative regulations, its articles of association, village regulations, and villagers' agreements. Members of the collective entity may consult and copy such information.
Article 265 Collectively-owned property shall be protected by law and shall not be usurped, plundered, embezzled, or destroyed by any entity or individual.
In case of damage to or loss of the legitimate rights or interests of any member of a collective entity due to any decision made by a rural collective economic organization, villagers' committee, or the principal thereof, such member may file a petition with the people's court to revoke the decision.
Article 266 Any individual shall be entitled to ownership of their income, dwellings, articles for daily use, work tools, raw materials, and other lawfully obtained real and personal properties.
Article 267 Lawfully obtained private property shall be protected by law and shall not be usurped, plundered, or destroyed by any entity or individual.
Article 268 The State, any collective or private entity, or any individual may invest to set up limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, or companies of any other nature according to law. Where nationally, collectively or privately-owned real or personal property is invested in a company, the contributors shall be entitled to profits, major decision-making, appointment of management members, and other rights, as agreed by the contributors or in proportion to their contributions and shall perform their respective obligations.
Article 269 A for-profit legal entity may possess, use, profit from, and dispose of its real and personal properties in accordance with laws, administrative regulations, and its articles of association.
The rights of legal entities other than for-profit legal entities arising from or relating to their real and personal properties shall be governed by the applicable provisions of laws, administrative regulations, and their articles of association.
Article 270 The real and personal properties legally owned by social organizations and donation institutions, as legal entities, shall be protected by law.