Zhejiang Province Allows Farmers Cooperatives to Register, Obtain Legal Status

Zhejiang authorities have registered China's first group of rural professional farmers cooperatives, according to a May 10 Beijing news report. Rural cooperatives are associations of farmers that organize to protect their economic interests. Zhejiang's provincial government passed the first regulations on rural cooperatives in 2004, as noted in a previous CECC analysis. These regulations appear to be somewhat more liberal than corresponding national rules. The Zhejiang regulations require cooperatives to register with the local Bureau of Industry and Commerce, but do not include the requirement for a "sponsor organization" present in most other Chinese civil society regulations. Tight restrictions on independent civil society organizations in China make it harder for farmers and other groups to organize and protect their interests. The Zhejiang government's move suggests that some local officials are attempting to support local farmers' efforts to form autonomous organizations.