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As per current statistics, about 13 million rural folk move into cities in China, and according to the country's Vice-Minister of Construction Qiu Baoxing, huge resources will be needed to accommodate this new urban population.
Current construction projects, according to the China Daily, account for around 30 per cent of the global total, and it will take another 30 years before the initial phase of China's urbanization is completed.
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 lives in urban areas.
China currently has some 600 cities and 20,000 towns, and according to Qiu, the government has already initiated several urban planning schemes at all levels that will take care of factors like the protection of the environment, energy and resources, respect culture and history, and safeguard the rights and interests of low-income citizens.
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