Urbanization to unleash China's growth potential

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China's urbanization drive will boost domestic consumption and investment in the future, analysts have said.

The country aims to add 100 million urban residents between 2016 and 2020, while enabling 100 million rural residents to live in towns and cities in central and western regions.

Population concentration together with improvements in livelihoods will expand demand in consumer services, said Chi Fulin, director of the China Institute for Reform and Development.

New housing in a suburb of Shanghai, China. /CFP Photo

It is estimated that if migrant workers spend as much as urban residents, the country's consumption will swell by over one trillion yuan (around 144 billion US dollars).

Every percentage of urbanization is predicted to translate into 3.7 percent investment growth. When 400 million people bid adieu to villages in the next 10 to 20 years, they are forecast to directly stimulate investment demand of 40 trillion yuan (5.75 trillion US dollars).

In 2015, permanent urban residents accounted for 56.1 percent of China's population, a rate expected to hit 60 percent by 2020.

Urbanization promises opportunities for China's development, said Li Yang, an academic with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

China's vast rural areas are huge markets for living environment improvement, garbage disposal and infrastructure upgrading, Li added.

(Story published by Xinhua)‍

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