The two-day China's 21st Century Urbanization Development Strategy Forum concluded in Beijing Monday.

Some 200 officials and scholars from China, Germany, the United States and Italy attended the forum.

The forum was co-sponsored by People's Daily Overseas Edition and China Society for Strategy and Management Research.

Officials and scholars from home and abroad exchanged research findings and experience over issues such as the patterns for urbanization in China, and held in-depth discussions.

Experts noted that China's urbanization development in recent years has far exceeded that in Europe and the United States, with millions of farmers swarming into cities for jobs. The future scale of urbanization in China will surpass the total in developed countries.

Consequently, cities in China are heavily burdened in terms of energy, environment protection, security, health care, financing as well as protection of cultural relics, a fact that poses a big challenge to the Chinese government, enterprises, residents and experts, and in the meantime, offers a golden opportunity for development. But experts emphasized that legitimate rights and interests of citizens should be protected in the process of urbanization.

A former Italian deputy prime minister introduced Italy's experience in urbanization development and hoped China could set an example for other countries in this regard.

WHO Representative in China Dr. Henk Bekedam pointed out that the urbanization development in China should put human health on priority.

Gao Shangquan, director of China Society of Economic Reform, noted that the development strategy of urbanization in China should go hand-in-hand with the building a new countryside and creating a new concept. People and enterprises are the principal part to create wealth and government the main body to build the environment. Government should increase investment and arouse farmers' enthusiasm, which are the precondition for the urbanization development and a new socialist countryside in China.

According to Vicent Lo, CEO of Hong Kong-based Shui On Land, competitive cities in the future should be those with flourishing economy, energy saving and environment friendly, and fit for human habitation. Meanwhile, the cities should be able to attract creative people to settle in and work, because creativity industry is the major driving force for cities to prosper.

Shan Jixiang, director of State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said that protection of cultural relics must be highlighted in the center of urbanization because they are scarce, frangible and non-renewable.

Other officials, from the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), China Development Bank, Ministry of Land and Resources as well as China Society for Strategy and Management Research, also voiced their opinions.

By People's Daily Online