This week, the China Daily (European weekly edition) has published an article on urbanisation in China in which several members of the UrbaChina consortium were interviewed, including Peter Daniels, François Gipouloux and Athar Hussain).
Cecily Liu, the author of this article, discussed the various challenges associated with China’s massive urbanization. Although this phenomenon creates huge opportunities for development, several issues, including the integration of rural migrants, need to be addressed. Liu believes that China needs to look closely at the EU’s urbanisation model in order to successfully build new cities to accommodate the growing urban population and offer them a better environment. Another challenge concerns China’s transition to a free market economy with a strong service industry. However, to achieve these goals, reforms need to be implemented in local financing.
European cities do have their own issues, but the European experience may offer new perspectives for China to improve its urbanisation. China may be inspired by the diversity of European cities and the various initiatives conducted to answer their environmental issues.
This article highlights the importance of cooperation between China and Europe to tackle the issue of urbanisation.
Cecily Liu (2013, June 14th), “Slick Cities”, China Daily. Full version
「城镇化中国」项目计划中的每位专题主持人，皆介绍了他们的调研成果与发现，也分享了他们对未来中国城镇化的看法 :