An official makes a speech at FUIUF. Urbanization is speeding up throughout China, with half the 1.3 billion Chinese expected to live in cities in 2010. Every year, about 13 million rural people flood into China's cities, equivalent to the current population of Beijing, Vice-Minister of Construction Qiu Baoxing told the Fudan University International Urban Forum over the weekend. To accommodate this new urban population, the country needs a huge amount of resources, currently accounting for 40 per cent of the world's total annual cement consumption and 30 per cent of the annual steel consumption. In addition, current construction projects account for around 30 per cent of the global total, said the vice-minister. He estimated that it would be another 30 years before the initial phase of China's urbanization is completed. "Besides resource consumption, urbanization brings a lot of problems such as the widening wealth gap between urban and rural areas, environmental damage, the lack of social security for migrant workers and heavy pressure on transport networks," said Shan Wenhui, director of the Centre for Urban Studies at Fudan University. Shi Nan, secretary-general of the Urban Planning Society of China, pointed out that it would be possible for the country to accommodate 50 per cent of its population in cities in 2010, since currently about 40 per cent of the population already lived in urban areas. He said the government needed to seek solutions for swelling urban populations and shrinking resources. Currently, three densely urbanized regions have formed along China's coast the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. New urban systems are also taking shape in the country's smaller cities and towns, due to economic development and the absorption of surplus rural labour. Economic growth is the force driving this rapid urbanization. But other factors also attract farmers to the cities, Qiu explained, pointing to the development of transport networks and educational opportunities. 點擊查看更多雙語新聞 (China Daily)

隨著我國城市化的進程加快，預計到2010年，全國將有一半人口居住在城鎮。 在上周末舉行的“復旦大學國際城市化論壇”上，建設部副部長仇保興說，我國每年約有1300萬的農村人口涌向城市，這個數字相當于現在整個北京市的人口。 為了解決城市新增人口的住房問題，我國需要大量的資源和原材料，目前我國的水泥年消費量占全世界消費總量的40％，鋼材年消費量占世界消費總量的30％。 此外，據仇部長介紹，目前我國的建設項目總數占全世界在建項目的30％左右。據估計，我國城市化進程第一階段還將持續30年。 復旦大學城市化研究中心主任單文慧說：“除了資源消耗，城市化還帶來了很多其它的問題，其中包括城鄉居民貧富差距不斷擴大、環境破壞、民工缺乏社會保障以及公交系統壓力過大等問題?！? 中國城市規劃學會秘書長石楠說，目前全國已有40％的人口居住在城鎮地區，因此，到2010年城鎮地區容納全國50％的人口應該不成問題。 他說，政府必須找到可行的辦法來解決城市人口不斷增加和資源不斷減少的問題。 目前，珠江三角洲、長江三角洲和京津唐地區已成為我國三大城市密集區。 隨著我國城鎮經濟的發展和吸納農村剩余勞動力能力的增強，一些中小城鎮已開始形成新的城鎮體系。 經濟增長是我國城市化進程加快的主要動力。此外，據仇部長介紹，城市公交系統的發展和受教育機會的增多也是吸引農民進城的重要因素。 （英語點津姍姍編輯）