Virtual built-up land transfers embodied in China's interregional trade

China's vibrant interregional trade has widened the gaps between production and consumption, which transfers the pressure of built-up land resources caused by population expansion and supply/demand imbalances. This study comprehensively analyzes China's built-up land use issues, considering the complex interregional trading network. Accordingly, the virtual built-up land transfers embodied in China's interregional trade is illustrated, based on a multi-regional input-output analysis. In China, the national average of virtual built-up land intensity illustrates a downward trend. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the intensive built-up land utilization policies implemented in many parts of the country. Three economic regions of China with the most active trade activities (the Yangtze River Delta, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions, and Guangdong Province) have attracted many virtual land flows to relieve the built-up land resource pressures caused by rapid economic development. These flows have mainly derived from neighboring provinces. Considering the detail virtual built-up land transfer profiles embodied in China's interregional trade, policymakers must collaborate to formulate differentiated policies and optimize built-up land types that combine industrial structure and trade patterns.