Fifty percent of the Chinese population will live in urban areas by 2010 and the figure will reach 60 percent by 2020, said Chou Baoxing, Vice Minister of Construction at an ongoing Shanghai international urbanization forum.

Chou refuted claims that China's urbanization drive was too fast but admitted that the negative effects brought about by urbanization, including environmental problems, traffic congestion and inadequate social insurance for migrant workers, should be addressed.

"The three important yardsticks for judging if the urbanization drive is healthy are the level of protection of energy and other natural resources, respect for local history and culture and care for the low-income groups," Chou was quoted by the Fist Financial Daily as saying.

Currently, 41 percent of Chinese live in urban areas, said Shi Nan, Secretary General of the Urban Planning Society of China.

The urban areas have the capacity to accommodate 50 percent of the population by 2010, as long as migrants are evenly distributed between the country's 600 cities and 20,000 townships, Shi said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 6, 2006)