BEIJING - China will set up a bureau for real estate registration to facilitate property management reform, China's top land and resources regulator said on Saturday.

The establishment of the bureau is designed to improve unified system design for registration as China will spell out related regulations this year, Xu Deming, vice minister of land and resources said at a work-planning meeting.

The unified system on real estate registration will include related regulations, registration and information service platforms, documents and survey standards.

Meanwhile, China will accelerate rural land property surveying and registration and promote stockholding system reform in the countryside, Xu said.

Small cities and towns should highlight real estate registration in their organization and government function reform while big cities should enhance cooperation with related departments and share their experience, the vice minister added.

Real estate registration is an essential step if China is to levy property tax.