China is "very confident" that it can maintain its 120 million hectares of farmland, Minister of Land and Resources Xu Shaoshi said in Beijing on Sunday.

China restored a total of 300,000 hectares of farmland and constructed 4 million hectares of good quality farmland in 2011, according to the ministry.

"Local governments have enhanced their efforts to protect farmland in recent years," Xu said.

The ministry is also confident of its ability to construct 27 million hectares of good quality farmland by the end of 2016, he said.