Urbanization is not only inevitable - it is the primary impetus for China's economic development. But if we do not respect the objective laws of development, the urbanization process risks going astray, harming the interests of farmers, and creating urban blight.

Breakneck pace of urbanization

A recent survey shows an astonishing 183 out of 200 prefecture-level cities in China plan to build an "international metropolis".

This ambition clearly reflects an impulse to push development of cities well beyond anything that makes economic sense.

China's urban population reached 46.59 percent of the total in just 30 years - a process that took 200 years in the West.

Reform and opening up dramatically boosted the pace of urbanization, which, in turn, promoted economic prosperity and social progress.

In demographic terms, urbanization means turning the rural population into city dwellers. In geographical terms, it means concentrating the population in cities and towns. Chen Houyi, vice president of the China Society of Economic Law, said "China's urbanization rate is exceptionally rapid, rising from 17.92 percent in 1978 to 46.59 percent in 2009".

Urbanization of land outpacing urbanization of people

The process of urbanization is not just about turning rural land into urban land, but also turning farmers into city dwellers. Real progress in urbanization requires full employment and equal rights for migrant workers. But according to a 2009 report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the built-up area in prefecture-level cities and above grew by 70 percent while the urban population grew by only 30 percent during the 2001-07 period.

And while China's urbanization rate has reached 46.59 percent, people with city hukou (household registration) account for only 33 percent of the total population. This means that 13.59 percent, or 128 million city dwellers, are not, properly speaking, urbanized.

Chen Xiwen, director of the office of the central leading group on rural work, says "China's urbanization rate is overestimated. Among the 600 million urban population counted in current statistics, at least 200 million do not enjoy full rights".