Industrial population,gross national product and growth of cities and towns

This article, which is translated from the original Chinese, examines whether China's current rate of urbanization is compatible with its economic development objectives. Changes in the level of urbanization from 1949 to 1984 are first reviewed. The author then outlines the growth of the urban labor force and the relationship between urbanization and gross national product. It is concluded that it is in the country's interest to continue to control the rate of urban growth up to the end of this century, in order to ensure that the urban population does not exceed 40 percent of the total population by the year 2000.