Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

China's urbanization reforms will boost its economy

By Zegang Ren - posted Wednesday, 24 April 2019


Take the Yangzi River delta as an example: Shanghai and another 15 industrial cites are located here. The growth of the international city of Shanghai is now constrained due to lack of land, overpopulation, congestion and pollution. One feasible solution is to shift some of Shanghai's functions to neighboring cities such as Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Jiaxing, etc. In such a way Shanghai and its neighboring cities can pursue differentiated and coordinated development.

Supporting the formation of such major city clusters in the most advanced regions has become the keynote of efforts to advance urbanization. The other Chinese regions nominated for city clusters are the Greater Bay District covering Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau (Peal River Delta); the Beijing-Tianjin region; the Chengdu-Chongqing economic region, and to a lesser extent, hub cities such as Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Xian, Changsha, and Qingdao.

The second tier cities in those city clusters will be offered more land for industrial and commercial purposes to coincide with the expected influx of rural migrants. This expansion of both population and of business activities will stimulate investment, enlarge the tax pool for government benefit, and reduce living and production costs for residents and enterprises in those cities.

Advertisement

The impact on the rural sector will also be profound. With large numbers of rural residents departing for the cities, arable lands will be concentrated in the hands of the professional farm and agricultural businesses that have experienced rapid expansion in recent years. The efficiency of Chinese agriculture will improve substantially thanks to economies of scale and the use of advanced agricultural machinery and technology.

The activities mentioned above are actually part of a process reshuffling control of economic resources such as land – which is simultaneously a process of creation, distribution and exchange of wealth. It is particularly important to remember that those people whose land is being acquired are entitled to have fair compensation. Those rural migrants who seek work in cities must be able to lease their land and receive a good profit from that rental. Generation, distribution and exchange of wealth in such a way should translate into an expansion of domestic consumption and overall economic stimulation.

However, the challenges here are also acute. The free movement of people and consequent reshuffling of resources will put pressure on the social management abilities of government authorities. If the government's administrative arrangements and the legal and policing systems cannot manage the process in a fair and orderly manner, it will lead to chaos, corruption, resentment, disillusion and the formation of Mafia rings.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. Page 2
  4. All

Article edited by Margaret-Ann Williams.
If you'd like to be a volunteer editor too, click here.



Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

3 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

Ren Zegang is an immigrant to Australia from China and the editor of reformchina.com.



Other articles by this Author

All articles by Zegang Ren

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Article Tools
Comment 3 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy