BEIJING - China protects the land rights of women in rural areas, and women living in rural areas account for about 70 percent of the total agricultural labor force, according to a white paper issued on Tuesday.

As a large agricultural country, China has implemented and improved laws and policies on protecting the land rights of rural women, and established various systems for managing rural collective funds, assets and resources, said the white paper marking the 20th anniversary of the UN's Fourth World Conference on Women that was held in Beijing.

According to the paper, the country also corrected any village regulations and folk conventions for villagers that are in conflict with statutory regulations and the principle of gender equality, so as to ensure that women in rural areas enjoy equal rights of land contract and management, use of homesteads and distribution of collective income.

In the verification, registration and certification of land contract and management rights, it is clearly ruled that women's rights and interests in relation to land must be given expression to in the registration book and land right certificate, so that "women in rural areas are ensured access to the resources necessary for survival and development at source," it said.