China's urban population will reach about 1.1 billion by 2050 and the long-term urbanization process will cost 15 to 16 trillion (1.8 to 1.9 trillion US dollars), twice China's GDP in 2000, according to an authoritative report.

The only way to eventually solve China's problems in agriculture and rural areas is to reduce the farming population by getting them to move into the cities, said the annual Strategic Report of China's sustainable Development released by the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), a think tank of Chinese central government.

The report, together with other two reports, Science Development Report and High Technology Development Report, were the eighth annual reports by the CAS to reveal China's development and progress in separate fields.

According to statistics from the World Bank, the average rate of urbanization in high, medium and low income countries were 75 percent, 62 percent and 30 percent respectively, while in China it has not even reach the standard of 40 percent.

Considering the demand of China's modernization, the urbanization rate should rise to 75 percent in the middle of the century, which means that about 10 to 12 million farmers will pour into cities each year.

The total cost for each farmer becoming urban resident is about25,000 yuan (3012 US dollars), including individual payment of 14,500 yuan (1747 US dollars) and the public cost of 10,500 yuan (1265 US dollars). In the next 50 years, China's annual cost for urbanization will be 300 to 500 billion yuan (36 to 60 billion US dollars), said the report.

Source: Xinhua