How is China urbanizing? Urbanization policy in China and India What is the level of urbanization in China

If in 1950 1/3 of the world's citizens were concentrated in Asia, then in 2010 about 1/2. The Southeast Asian vector of world urbanization is noticeably intensifying, the “urban mass” of China and India and the countries of East and South Asia adjacent to them are growing especially rapidly.

Table 5. The number of regions of the world and the share of the urban population of the regions of the world for 1950, 1975, 2010, 2050

The current stage of urbanization in the PRC is characterized by many scientists as an "urban revolution", which is associated with the unprecedented scale of the phenomenon. China is a traditionally rural country with a long history of low urbanization.

Fig.8

By the time the PRC was formed (1949), only 10.6% of the population lived in cities. Socialist China was characterized by an increase in the level of urbanization. Starting from the 1960s, when the share of the urban population became 19.7%, an acute food problem arose in the cities, the PRC began to take measures to reduce the urban population. A campaign to send young people to rural and mountainous areas has intensified.

Thus, from 1962 to 1976 over 17 million literate youth were sent to state farms and people's communes. Particularly large were the flows from densely populated provinces and cities of central subordination to poorly developed areas. By 1975, the level of urbanization had dropped to 17.3%.

Table 6. Total population, urban and rural population of China for 1950, 1975, 2010, 2025 (thousand people)

Table 7. Share of urban population in China, 1950, 1975, 2010, 2025 (%)

But then the urban population and its share in the total population of the country began to grow steadily. The proportion of city dwellers increased especially rapidly after the start of the economic reform: in 1978, 17.9% of the total population were city dwellers. According to the 3rd All-China Census of 1982, 210 million people already lived in cities. or 20.6% of the population. Unlike past censuses, all urban residents were divided into two categories: those living in large and medium-sized cities ("shi") and those living in small cities and towns ("zhen"). At the same time, most of the townspeople - 70% - lived in large cities. In the 1980s, special attention was paid to the creation of small towns and urban-type settlements.

According to Chinese scholars, "Forcing the construction of small cities and towns is a great economic and social task. It is necessary to seriously experiment with registration reform in small towns and towns, develop investment and land policies in favor of the latter, as well as a political justification for real estate. The construction of small towns and settlements must be carried out on the basis of scientific planning and rational location.Here it is necessary to monitor the economy of land area and environmental protection and not take on the case en masse"

In the Yangtze and Pearl River Delta, almost all the central cities carry out the settlement of administrative division on the basis of urban development plans. From 1999 to 2002, 2.88 million peasants in Zhejiang Province became urban dwellers. The urbanization rate of this province has risen from 36% to 42

Throughout the history of urbanization in China, the state has played a significant role. Along with direct influence on the process (the "hukou" system, which prevented free migration, the resettlement of large contingents of peasants to cities and townspeople to the countryside, etc.), the state regulated and continues to regulate the processes of urbanization indirectly (through prices for land and real estate, labor market, etc.). Among the factors of China's urbanization are economic, social, migration and demographic, administrative and external factors. The state and the CPC have formulated the task of transforming traditionally rural China into an "urban country" with an urbanization level of about 60% by 2020. One of the main mechanisms for solving this problem is the formation of the three largest megalopolises: the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and the capital region of Beijing. Bohaiwan. The formation of China's megalopolises has become the main content of the urbanization policy of the Chinese leadership at the present stage. The Chinese leadership is taking targeted actions to form megalopolises, including the adoption of program documents at the highest state level; holding coordination meetings of the management of the subjects included in the megalopolises; budgetary support, primarily through the participation of the state in the construction of infrastructure facilities; creation of a single information center, etc. A special role is assigned to external factors of the formation of megalopolises. The transition to a market economy has had a significant impact on the appearance of Chinese cities, which has been significantly transformed in recent years. From "cities-producers" developing according to a strict plan, there is a gradual transition to a "consumer city". The urban environment becomes spatially heterogeneous, tends to satisfy the diverse interests of the population. In transforming the urban environment, the central government cooperates closely with the regional authorities, encouraging and supporting their initiatives. The PRC has developed a complex, multi-level system of urban planning, which is constantly being improved. Currently, a new "Law on Urban and Rural Planning" is being approved, which allows for a comprehensive approach to the process, taking into account the interests of both urban and rural areas. China's urban planning system is hierarchically structured, and local city authorities are given fairly large powers. City authorities are taking various measures to form an "optimal" structure of city dwellers: attracting an educated workforce, rural migrants, and foreign businessmen. The creation of urban areas with characteristics that meet the needs of certain groups of the population is one of the important activities of city authorities.

It can be said that the PRC authorities actively regulate both the process of urbanization and the demographic development in the country. The authorities worked for periods, sometimes attracting residents to the city, then resettling urban residents in rural areas. Characterizing the process of urbanization in India, it is necessary first of all to study the following graph and table.

Fig.9

Table 8. Population, urban and rural population of India, shares of the urban population of India (%), for 1950, 1975, 2010, 2025

There is a global trend that is developing in the direction of increasing urbanization, according to which more than half of the world's population lives in cities. It is worth noting that the contribution of the urban sector in India to gross domestic product (GDP) is currently expected to be in the range of 50-60%.

In this regard, increasing the productivity of labor in urban areas is now at the center of the policy statements of the Ministry of Urban Development. Cities have great potential as engines of economic and social development and job creation.

They must be sustainable and supplemented by the urban economy, which in turn will be positive for the economic development of the country. A large number of housing requires constant maintenance, so requires a certain staff, and these are free jobs for Indian women.

Since 1950, the government of India has adopted 1005 different plans aimed at the development of housing and urban construction, which led to the launch of a mechanism to combat urban poverty and destitution. The Nehru Rojgar Yojana (NRY) program emphasized institution building and the construction of housing for government employees and the weak. Perhaps such plans will greatly improve the lives of millions of Indians. The state policy of India is aimed at increasing the degree of urbanization in the country, it is aimed at the growth of cities, the construction of housing for visiting residents, the construction of additional jobs. Thus, the government of India, through the urban population, is trying to increase the pace of economic development, since the urban population is the labor core in production.

Urbanization policy in China

Elena Samburova
(Application to the concept of the Irkutsk agglomeration. Fully published on the Russian Archipelago website, address: http://www.archipelag.ru/agenda/povestka/evolution/irkutsk/b3_china/)

The current stage of urbanization in the PRC is characterized by many scientists as an "urban revolution", which is associated with the unprecedented scale of the phenomenon. In 2007, the world's urban population will outnumber the rural population: the world is becoming predominantly "urban". After 8 years, traditionally rural China should also become an "urban" country: by 2015, the population of cities, having reached 700 million people, should exceed the rural population. The number of city dwellers will significantly outstrip this indicator of all countries of the world, including India.

1. Dynamics and factors of the urbanization process in China

China is traditionally a rural country with a long history of low urbanization. By the time the PRC was formed (1949), only 10.6% of the population lived in cities, but the country was already the world leader in terms of the absolute number of city dwellers. Socialist China was characterized by an increase in the level of urbanization, primarily in accordance with the ongoing industrialization policy during the years of the first five-year plan (1953-1957) and mass migration of peasants to the city during the years of the Great Leap Forward (1958-1960), when to ensure state investment in metallurgy within three years, more than 20 million peasants were sent from the countryside to the cities. The share of the urban population by 1960 reached 19.7%. However, in the face of a difficult food situation, a significant part of the newly minted workers was again forced to return to the countryside, since they did not have a city registration, and they were not entitled to receive food cards for a rationed supply of grain in the city. During the years of the "cultural revolution" the PRC leadership also made a lot of efforts to reduce the urban population. A campaign to send young people to rural and mountainous areas has intensified. Thus, from 1962 to 1976 over 17 million literate youth were sent to state farms and people's communes. Particularly large were the flows from densely populated provinces and cities of central subordination to poorly developed areas. By 1975, the level of urbanization had dropped to 17.3%.

In the People's Republic of China, the main criterion that determined whether residents belonged to an urban or rural population was not their actual place of residence and not employment in or outside the sphere of agriculture, but their presence on the registration list at the place of residence in the city and the ability to receive food on the basis of this. grain ration ("koulian").

In the 1980s, special attention was paid to the creation of small towns and urban-type settlements. According to Chinese scholars, "Forcing the construction of small cities and towns is a great economic and social task. It is necessary to seriously experiment with registration reform in small towns and towns, develop investment and land policies in favor of the latter, as well as a political justification for real estate. Construction small towns and settlements must be carried out on the basis of scientific planning and rational distribution. Here it is necessary to monitor the economy of land area and environmental protection and not take up the matter en masse ".

Since the 1980s, the process of urbanization in China has acquired specific forms, which consisted in the fact that the peasants turned into urban residents not directly, but indirectly as a result of the transformation of rural settlements into small towns and urban-type settlements, in which there were only some urban forms and living conditions. Such familiarization with urban life, given China's hyperpopulation, made it possible, on the one hand, to somewhat weaken the growth of the surplus population in the countryside, and, on the other hand, to restrain the onslaught of peasants rushing to large and medium-sized cities in search of a livelihood.

For the first time, the free movement of labor from the countryside, including to enterprises in cities and towns, was recorded in 1983 in document No. 1 "Some Issues of Economic Policy in the Village at the Present Time." In 1997, the peasants employed in urban construction already amounted to over 45.5 million people.

The growth of employment in rural enterprises has become the main source of "rural urbanization". Decree, or government, settlements became its basis. The status of a settlement was assigned to them in accordance with the norms of the State Council of the PRC, approved in October 1984. In 1985, the number of such settlements was 7956.

According to the data of the 5th National Population Census, the total urban population in 2000 was 458.4 million people. - 36.2% of the total population of the country.

In 1978-2001 the number of cities ("chengshi") increased from 192 to 662. The number of government settlements in 2001 reached 20,358. The population of super-large, large, medium and small cities increased from 210 million people in 1985 to 380 million people in 1995 and up to 390 million people in 2000. The entire urban population, including urban-type settlements, in 2001 amounted to 480.6 million people , in 2002 - 502 million people. The level of urbanization in 2002 was 39.1%.

At the beginning of the 21st century, administrative changes in the boundaries of cities led to a further increase in the number and proportion of city dwellers. For example, after Xiaoshan and Yuhang entered the administrative subordination of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, the territory of Hangzhou City increased to 3,000 square kilometers, and the population of the city increased to 4.5 million people. According to the Guangdong provincial government's plan, Huadu and Panyu have recently been placed under the administrative control of Guangzhou. Thus, the area of the city of Guangzhou has reached 7400 square meters. km. According to this indicator, he was ahead of Shanghai. The number of permanent residents of Guangzhou has reached 10 million and is approaching the level of Beijing. In the Yangtze and Pearl River Delta, almost all the central cities carry out the settlement of administrative division on the basis of urban development plans. From 1999 to 2002, 2.88 million peasants in Zhejiang Province became urban dwellers. The urbanization rate of this province has risen from 36% to 42%.

At the 16th Congress of the CPC, the policy of urbanization was included in party documents for the first time. It is considered possible to increase the population of cities and towns by about 1% per year, up to 838 million people. by 2020, or by 326 million compared to 2002 (including a natural increase of 37 million people). This would make it possible to increase the degree of urbanization to 57% and thereby approach the indicators of medium-developed countries.

The transformation of hundreds of millions of people from rural dwellers, employed, especially in the hinterland, mainly in agricultural labor, into townspeople, whose main sphere of application of labor will be non-agricultural, is a task of incredible complexity. It will take more than a dozen years to solve it. Such a gigantic transition in such a huge country as China cannot happen spontaneously. In order to avoid chaos in economic, social and political life, a whole range of interrelated and well-thought-out measures will have to be implemented, which will include both training people from the countryside in professions that the city needs, and creating a network of intermediary organizations that can help future people on a commercial basis. townspeople to settle down and adapt. The increase in China's urban population cannot outpace the creation of urban employment opportunities for rural migrants and the inclusion of peasants in social security systems.

According to the State Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China, at the end of 2006, the level of urbanization in China had already reached 43.9%, which is 0.9% more than in 2005, and the total number of city dwellers was 577.1 million people. Thus, since 2001, the level of urbanization of the PRC has been increasing annually by about 1%, which indicates that the implementation of the tasks set at the 16th Congress of the CPC is quite possible. According to China's Vice Minister of Construction Qi Ji, there are 656 cities and about 20,000 urban-type settlements in the country.

The main factors of urbanization that have ensured the rapid growth in the level of urbanization in the last decade include:

1. Economic factors

1.1. Consistently high growth rates of the economy, first of all, of industry, the transformation of China into a "world factory". Modernization, industrialization were accompanied by a rapid expansion of cities;

1.2. The growth in the use of the latest technologies, including information technologies, has led to the dynamic creation of new jobs in cities, primarily in large and largest cities;

1.3. Accelerated development of transport infrastructure, providing opportunities for the concentration of economic activity;

2. Social factors

2.1. Higher incomes of the population in cities than in rural areas, a higher standard of living in cities stimulate the growth of migration flows from the countryside to the city;

2.2. Changing the structure of the urban economy: outstripping development of the service sector, including education, etc., attracts young people from rural areas;

3. Migration and demographic factors

3.1. The growth of labor productivity in agriculture against the backdrop of a lag in socio-economic development, an increase in the surplus labor force in the countryside led to the movement of huge masses of peasants to the cities;

3.2. While natural growth is declining, which is characteristic of urban residents due to successful birth control policies, in general, natural growth in cities does not decrease so much, since it is offset by a higher birth rate of migrants from rural areas;

4. Administrative factors

4.1. Expansion of the boundaries of cities due to the inclusion in their composition of neighboring rural counties that fall under the jurisdiction of the city; diffusion of cities into rural areas. For example, the Beijing area includes an area of 17.1 thousand square meters. km, to Guangzhou - 11 thousand square meters. km, to Shanghai - 5.8 thousand square meters. km. They include, respectively, 9, 6 and 10 rural counties, which are designed to provide the population of cities with food.

4.2. "Rural urbanization" - a change in the status of rural settlements, in which the settlement-volost industry has developed - the creation of so-called "government" settlements;

5. External factors

5.1. Purposeful formation of cities of international importance, including the "global city" - Shanghai;

5.2. The concentration of foreign direct investment in large cities, the placement of branches and regional branches of TNCs there, which stimulates the growth of urbanization;

5.3. The development of export industries in small towns and villages, which leads to the expansion of these settlements.

In China, there are different points of view on the choice of urbanization model. A number of researchers believe that urbanization based on large cities should be a priority. However, with the urbanization of Chinese society, all the problems of large cities with a population of over half a million people increase. Obviously, the growth of large cities should be limited to a certain extent.

Unlike large cities, where a significant part of the urban population is concentrated, until recently, medium and especially small cities did not grow fast enough because they did not have enough funds for economic and cultural development.

Most Chinese politicians and experts are in favor of the parallel development of towns, small, medium and large cities. Each of these types of urban settlements has a specific role to play in the transition of hundreds of millions of peasants from a rural to an urban way of life. Large and medium-sized cities are able to provide the best opportunities for the development of capital-intensive and technology-intensive industries and services. They are able to attract a significant number of temporary and seasonal migrants from the countryside. Small towns and settlements, on the other hand, give scope for the development of labor-intensive production, guaranteeing jobs and cheaper and permanent residence for migrants from the countryside. It is small towns that serve as the main suppliers of traditional goods for export. It is assumed that by 2020 200-300 million people. will be settled in small towns and villages, and the remaining 500-600 million people. - in 200-300 cities with a population of 2-3 million people. each .

The main sources of the upcoming growth in the urban population and the level of urbanization are likely to be:

migration of villagers to cities (according to various estimates, they will amount to 200-300 million people),
transformation of rural settlements into urban-type settlements due to the development of rural industry,
expanding the administrative boundaries of cities as they include neighboring settlements and rural counties, the development of suburbanization processes,
construction of new urban settlements, primarily in inland areas, in connection with the development of new mineral deposits.

Priority development will be given to urban agglomerations and megalopolises, which will have to significantly increase their role both in the processes of urbanization and in the economy. The three largest megalopolises (clusters of cities - a literal translation from Chinese): in the deltas of the Zhujiang and Yangtze rivers and on the coast of the Bohai Bay - will increase their share in the country's GDP from 38% in 2002 to 50% by 2010 and up to 65% by 2020

2. Formation of mega-cities in China

One of the main directions of modern economic and urban development of China is the formation of three large megalopolises - clusters of cities in the deltas of the Yangtze and Zhujiang rivers and the metropolitan megalopolis Beijing - Tianjin - Bohai Bay. Chinese officials emphasize that the process of formation of megalopolises is based on the process of integration. According to Chinese experts, world experience suggests that at a certain stage, economic development requires not just the development of individual cities, but the creation of large-scale groups of cities that are closely interconnected, i.e. megalopolises. Decisions on the formation of megalopolises and related programs are taken at the state level, and the implementation of projects is primarily carried out by local authorities. The process of formation of megalopolises is characterized by a certain dualism: on the one hand, it is an objective process caused by the requirements of a market economy, on the other hand, it is controlled and planned by government agencies.

The main goals of the formation of megalopolises in the PRC are:

the opportunity, using the effect of scale and concentration of economic activity, to intensify the economic development of the urbanized zone and increase its competitiveness;
raising the standard of living and the volume of consumer demand;
rational use of labor due to the increase in its mobility as a result of the construction of a network of high-speed roads and railways;
opportunities for functional specialization of cities within urban clusters;
formation of a diverse urban environment that meets the interests of different groups of citizens;
creation of opportunities for more active interaction with the world community, attraction of foreign investments, expansion of foreign trade, scientific and technical cooperation;
concentration of efforts aimed at the development of R&D, attraction of the latest technologies, generation of innovations;
solution of social problems related to the employment of migrants from rural areas.

Mechanisms for the formation of megalopolises:

administrative, through coordinated actions of governments of different levels of subjects that are part of the megalopolis;
economic, through the formation of a single market for products, the rejection of provincial regional protectionism;
infrastructural, through the construction of high-speed highways that ensure high mobility of the population of megalopolises;
preferential, by creating a favorable climate for attracting foreign investment, ensuring the acceleration of economic development;
informational, by forming a single information base for the entire cluster of cities.

The features of the formation of megalopolises in the PRC include:

the planned nature of the formation of megalopolises, taking into account market factors;
purposeful actions of the central Chinese leadership in the formation of megalopolises, including support for local initiatives, the allocation of capital investments from the national budget, and the creation of a unified information base;
the simultaneous formation of three megalopolises as the three centers of gravity of China's economic development;
significant role of external factors: the concentration of foreign direct investment, foreign trade activities.

It is the emerging megalopolises that are the centers of attraction for migrants from the countryside to the cities. Accordingly, the growth in the level of urbanization in China is largely associated with these groups of cities. According to the Yangcheng Wenbao newspaper, according to the latest survey by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the People's Republic of China, the Zhujiang Delta region is currently the most attractive place for rural migrant workers. The proportion of this category of migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta is 10 percentage points higher than the Yangtze River Delta. In 2006, 20.9% of migrant workers worked in the Pearl River Delta, 11.6% of the Yangtze River Delta, and 11.9% of migrant workers in the areas adjacent to the Bohai Bay. in the amount of about 45% of the total Chinese indicator. The monthly income of migrant workers in the PRC is significantly lower than the average for the PRC - only 1,226 yuan (about $ 160), but the monthly income of migrant workers working in emerging megacities exceeds the national average: in the Pearl River Delta - 1298, the Yangtze River Delta - 1296, and in areas around the Bohai Bay - 1313 yuan.

Consider, as an example, the formation of a megalopolis in the Yangtze Delta.

The Yangtze River Delta Megalopolis comprises 16 cities in three administrative divisions: the Central City of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu Province, and eastern and northern Zhejiang Province. 16 cities are officially included in the emerging megalopolis - Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Nantong, Taizhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Huzhou, Jiaxing, Shaoxing, Zhoushan and Taizhou. The project for the unification of these cities began to be implemented in 2003. The integration of the 16 selected cities is of paramount importance in this project, while the task of accelerated urbanization of the rest of the territory has not yet been set. That is, apparently, it is assumed that this process stimulates the development of medium and small towns located within this territory.

In June 2007, the "Yangtze River Delta Regional Design Program" was adopted by the State Council of the People's Republic of China. This was preceded by the publication of a "field survey" and strategic analysis report "Returning the Center of the Economic Arena - Survey on the Transition of the Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone to Integration". Professors from the Institute of Economics and Industrial and Commercial Management of Hong Kong University and the Institute of Management of Fudan University worked on this report for three years. The report was compiled from a survey of mid- and top-level enterprise managers in 29 industries in 16 cities in the Yangtze River Delta.

The report emphasizes that the market plays a leading role in the development of the region, and for the cities of Prov. Jiangsu is of particular importance for outward-oriented development and attraction of foreign investment, for the cities of prov. Zhejiang - the activation of the private sector, the development of small businesses, for Shanghai - the activities of TNCs. Due to the intensive movement of production factors, it becomes possible to avoid the difficulties associated with administrative division - different administrative subordination of parts of the region.

Government departments are creating a favorable environment for the development of the economy in the Yangtze River Delta: a policy of low tax rates is being pursued to attract foreign investment, incentives are being introduced to encourage the private economic sector, large-scale modern infrastructure is being built, measures are being taken to weaken market control and management, etc. .

The authors of the report call for integration in the region to proceed in the context of market development, through market liberalization, free movement of capital and other economic resources, and integration should be guided by the intentions and policies of the government, but should not be limited by them.

Although this region accounts for only 1% of the entire territory of the country, it provides about 20% of China's total GDP. The total population of the Yangtze Delta is about 83 million people, i.e. about 6.3% of the PRC population (2005). To strengthen the prerequisites for interaction between the cities of the region, a certain specialization is assigned to the main centers: Shanghai - first of all, a financial and logistics center; Jiangsu and Zhejiang are a growing industrial base.

At the heart of the formation of a megalopolis is economic development.

The place of the Yangtze Delta in the Chinese economy is currently characterized by the following indicators (2005):

Real GDP growth rate - 13.4%,
GDP per capita - 5015 USD, while the average for the country is 1700 USD,
Retail turnover exceeds $131 billion - 16% of China's figure,
The volume of industrial production - 333.7 billion dollars - 25.4% of the PRC indicator,
Export volume - 276 billion dollars - 36% of the PRC indicator,
The volume of current foreign investment - 26.3 billion dollars - 43% of the total Chinese indicator.

Table 1. Key Development Indicators for 16 Cities of the Yangtze River Delta Megalopolis, 2005

Town	Area, sq. km	Nasele population, mln people	GDP, billion dollars	GDP growth, %	GDP per capita, USD	Volume of industrial output, billion dollars	Retail turnover, billion dollars	Export, billion dollars	Current foreign investments, billion dollars
	109,961	82,7	414,5	13,4	5,015*	781,4	131,1	276,0	26,3
	6,341	13,6	111,7	11,1	8,236	206,0	36,3	90,7
	6,582		29,4	15,1	4,990	49,6	12,3	14,2
	8,488		49,1	15,3	8,148	120,9	11,0	72,8
	4,788		34,2	15,1	7,606	69,8	10,1	15,5
	4,375		15,9	15,2	4,541	30,6
	6,634		11,3	15,0	2,471	17,7
Zhenjiang	3,847		10,6	15,0	3,978	16,2
	8,001		18,0	15,1	2,326	26,2
	5,797		10,0	15,0	1,997	14,8
	16,596		35,9	13,0	5,474	66,4	11,9	19,8
	9,365		29,9	12,5	5,389	59,7		22,2
	3,915		14,2	13,1	4,235	26,6
	5,817			14,1	3,055	13,1
	8,256		17,7	13,3	4,062	39,2
Zhoushan	1,440			15,0	3,531				0,03
	9,411		15,3	13,4	2,738	21,2

A source: Statistical yearbooks of the g.c.p. Shanghai, Prov. Jiangsu, Prov. Zhejiang, 2006

The GDP growth rates of all 16 cities exceed the average GDP growth rates in China: the maximum - 15.3%, the minimum - 11.1%, which is 5.5 and 1.2 percentage points higher than the average for China. Shanghai's GDP exceeds 900 billion yuan, accounting for 27% of the total GDP of the Yangtze River Delta region; Jiangsu - more than 1400 billion yuan, i.e. 43.1% of the region's GDP (maximum figures are Suzhou, Wuxi, Nanjing), GDP of 7 cities of prov. Zhejiang - over 1,000 billion yuan or 29.9% of the region's total GDP (the maximum figures are Hangzhou and Ningbo).

The Chinese press notes that there is still a significant gap between the cities of the Yangtze River Delta region in terms of average per capita disposable income, so these differences are expected to narrow in the future. At present (2005), with an average for the region of 15.225 thousand yuan, in Shanghai the maximum figure is 18.645 thousand yuan, in 7 cities of the prov. Zhejiang - 16,612, and in 8 cities of Prov. Jiangsu - 13.643 thousand yuan.

The main objectives of the Yangtze River Delta Megalopolis in the long term are:

Strengthening the regional economic integration of cities in the region in six main areas: building a unified transport network, unifying markets, protecting the environment, creating a unified information environment, financial cooperation and the exchange of qualified personnel;

Formation of a regional logistics network, primarily transport infrastructure, including roads and railways, sea routes and ports;

Joint formation of inter-provincial tourism region of the Yangtze River Delta, promotion of regional tourism brands by cities;

According to the preliminary Yangtze River Delta Development Program, the region is to become an economic center with high competitiveness in various fields.

3. Cities in China: between the plan and the market

Increasing the level of urbanization, increasing the number. However, no less significant than quantitative changes are the spatial and social transformations of Chinese cities.

Chinese cities: from the past to the present

Chinese civilization was formed as a traditional agrarian civilization, but it was in China that the first large cities arose. One of the first cities in the world, whose population reached 1 million people, was the trading center of Hangzhou (1 million people in the 13th century). Now the economy of Hangzhou is growing at a high rate, real estate prices have increased 3 times compared to 1999, almost catching up with Shanghai prices. Villas built around Xihu Lake sell for over 50,000 yuan (about $6,000) per square meter. meter. Guangzhou (Canton) is a city whose rapid development is associated with the influence of external relations and the colonial expansion of Great Britain in the middle of the 19th century. The tradition of "tea ceremonies" is giving way to "coffee mania" and many coffee houses have been opened in recent years. Shanghai after the "opium wars" in the second half of the 19th century became a cosmopolitan city, in the 1930s it was called the "Paris of the East". Now the future of Shanghai is associated with its transformation into a world city. But all these cities remained islands of well-being against the backdrop of impoverished rural China.

After the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, new socialist cities began to form in a planned manner: instead of "cities-consumers" - "cities-producers". These cities have become a concentration of state-owned enterprises, acting as the engine of local development in the face of strict central planning. The state limited the growth of the population of cities primarily through the strict restriction of migration. The "hukou" system - strict registration of the population at the place of residence (an analogue of propiska) - kept the rural population from migrating to the cities. There was no labor market in the cities, the hiring of labor was carried out on the basis of egalitarian principles. State housing construction dominated, the vast majority of the townspeople lived in state housing almost free of charge, which corresponded to artificially limited low wages. Intercity and intracity mobility of the population was strictly limited, in particular, due to the residence of a significant part of the citizens in the immediate vicinity of the place of work, in departmental houses on the territory of enterprises. This led to the spatial homogeneity of cities and simplified social control. Urban space remained undifferentiated, living conditions - the simplest - until the 1970s.

Transformation of Chinese cities

Since about 1980, as the system of state socialist planning has been transformed, Chinese cities have begun to change. The central government chose 4 cities on the southeast coast: Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamen, where "special economic zones" were formed with a preferential investment climate for foreign capital. Already the first successes in the decentralized and market-oriented development of these cities inspired the Chinese leadership to proclaim in 1984 14 "open cities" - large coastal centers, including Shanghai, which received greater independence in financial and economic activities, especially foreign economic activities. This policy stimulated an urban revolution that fundamentally changed the face of Chinese cities. The driving force behind this revolution was "state" urbanization as a result of the targeted impact of factors such as industrial development, large-scale migration, the impact of globalization. The combined effect of all these factors has led to rapid and uneven changes in Chinese cities, creating a heterogeneous urban environment.

The role of the Chinese central government. The PRC's central government gave coastal towns an opportunity to experiment in the mid to late 1980s by allowing state-owned land lease rights to be transferred to foreign investors. For example, in the once small city of Dongguan, rice fields have been transformed into huge factory areas, and it has become a major manufacturing center covering 2,250 square meters. km with a population of over 5 million people. Over 15 thousand enterprises with the participation of Hong Kong and Taiwanese capital provided 62.5% of its economic growth, 80% of GDP, 90% of exports. In 2003, Dongguan became the country's 3rd largest export city, behind only Shanghai and Shenzhen. Thanks to the high income from renting land for the construction of enterprises, the local government made elementary and secondary education completely free for the townspeople, provided free medical insurance for elderly pensioners.

Development of industrial functions of the city. The transformation of former economic backyard cities, such as Dongguan, into major manufacturing centers has been accompanied by labor market differentiation, slow growth in the service sector, and insufficient development of urban infrastructure and social services. The dominance of the central city remained, with some dispersal of economic activity on the outskirts of urban agglomerations.

Migration of rural residents to cities. The growth of China's cities is largely due to the huge migration of rural residents to cities, up to several million people in the prosperous cities of the seaside.

Migrant workers usually face harsh working conditions while contributing to the development and prosperity of cities. They have to lead a miserable existence, and they remain at the lowest rung of the social hierarchy, living on the outskirts of residential areas.

The impact of globalization. Thanks to TNCs, many new jobs are being created in enterprises, and the number of high-paying jobs is also growing, including in R&D in Beijing and Shanghai. In addition, the consumption pattern has begun to seriously change: lifestyle has become more affected by globalization, demand for popular brands, luxury housing has increased, but all this is available only to a small part of the citizens. Spatial and social inequality has sharply increased.

Chinese cities have undergone a major transformation, which is clearly visible through the coexistence and interweaving of traditional and modern, western and eastern, local and global. Luxurious neighborhoods coexist with slums, rich city dwellers with impoverished migrants.

The modern city is characterized by a fundamentally restructured economic base with a differentiated labor market. In all Chinese cities, the share of employment in state-owned enterprises decreased from 70% in 1992 to 25% in 2004, while the share of employment in the private sector increased from 4.7% to 20.8% over the same period. The share of state industrial enterprises continues to decrease as a result of changes in their legal status, mergers and acquisitions, and associations. There are mass layoffs, including forced ones. The development of the private sector leads to the creation of new jobs, but it does not require the most highly skilled labor force. As a result, college graduates with high degrees find it harder to find jobs, as employers prefer individuals with work experience but no academic degrees. The share of university graduates who sign a work contract before graduation is declining. The proportion of university graduates signing such a contract decreased from 68.2% to 40, and graduate students - from 76.7 to 40.7% in 2005 compared to 2003.

One way the government is trying to solve this problem is to encourage university and vocational school graduates to seek jobs in rural areas.

Urban space is also becoming more complex due to the expansion of city boundaries and the formation of a new urban environment. Ambitious projects have been adopted, according to which satellite cities will be created in the vicinity of the largest cities to unload them. For example, some of Beijing's 14 satellite cities will be expanded in line with the municipal government's plans to relieve the overcrowded capital. Several satellite cities with the best geographical position, industrial base and living conditions can accumulate up to 500 thousand inhabitants each. Now only a little over 1 million people live in them. on the territory of 157 sq. km. The population density in them is 6879 people. per sq. km, which is significantly lower than the population density in the central part of the city - 27,400 people. per sq. km. The main reasons for such government plans, which must be implemented before the opening of the Summer Olympic Games in August 2008, were transport problems and the deteriorating state of the environment.

Another feature of the modern city is the growing differentiation of housing development, which is associated with the privatization of housing. By the end of 2005, the proportion of privately owned residential buildings in China's coastal cities was 82%, which is higher than in the US (68%), the UK (67%) and Germany (only 42%).

This high proportion of private homeownership has become a major determinant of supply and demand in the housing market, hindering government efforts to rein in rising prices. The central government took appropriate measures back in 2005, but the market reacted poorly. Further measures were taken in May 2006. These included increasing loan payments on luxury homes from 20% to 30%, paying taxes on resold homes for 5 years from the previous 2 years, denying bank loans to developers if they do not ensure that at least 35% of the project cost is invested from equity. The government has also adopted rules aimed at increasing the proportion of relatively cheap housing, requiring developers to dedicate 70% of residential space to apartments with a maximum area of 90 square meters. m. According to a survey by the Ministry of Construction, the average size of new apartments in the 16 largest cities in the first half of 2006 exceeded 120 square meters. m, which is significantly more than the average homeowner can buy. According to another survey, more than 70% of the city dwellers cannot buy new apartments at the average prices of East China. Despite the fact that the demand for apartments is growing, as the population of cities grows, developers, guided by profit motives, continue to build luxury housing.

Social and spatial inequality in cities is also increasing due to the huge flow of migrants from rural areas to cities, which has reached about 120 million people. currently, by 2020 their number will increase to 300 million people. Thanks to illegal migrants, the total population of cities by 2015 may reach 1 billion people. The contribution of migrant workers to China's GDP growth, according to UNESCO, over the past 20 years has amounted to 16%, primarily in such sectors as construction, industry, trade, environmental protection in cities.

Migrant workers experience discrimination from local authorities and employers. In 2004 alone, unpaid wages to migrants amounted to 20 billion yuan ($2.5 billion). In Beijing in 2004, the debt of 700,000 migrant construction workers was about 3 billion yuan ($375 million). In 2006, the Chinese government passed a series of laws guaranteeing the protection of the civil rights of migrants, including the right to timely payment of salaries, social insurance, and education for their children in cities. Most of the approximately 400,000 migrant children in Beijing attend about 300 private schools located on the outskirts and organized by the migrants themselves, since the cost of education and transport costs in public urban schools are too high. But some of these private schools are closed on the grounds that they do not meet official educational standards.

The main problems of the Chinese city

The appearance of the Chinese city compared to the socialist period has changed very much. This is a rapid economic development, the growth of the well-being of citizens, greater mobility, choice, on the one hand, and growing unemployment, transport problems, high real estate prices, socio-economic and spatial inequality, on the other hand.

One of the mechanisms for solving problems is targeted government intervention. Decision-making was decentralized in the state, some of the rights were delegated to the level of local governments, it became much more difficult to use traditional macroregulation measures in relation to increasingly independent cities. However, Chinese budgetary legislation creates serious problems, according to which the government can spend additional budgetary revenues without the approval of other authorities. As a result, when developing budgets, governments at all levels deliberately underestimate their revenues in their plans for the financial year so that at the end of the year they have extra money to spend. The central government has reduced investment in urban fixed assets by tightening control over land leases, setting a higher threshold for entering the market. The interests and priorities of the central and municipal governments differ significantly. The central government is primarily concerned with macroeconomic problems - inflation and other signs of "overheating" of the economy, while local governments put economic growth in the first place, which means more jobs and fewer social risks, which contributes to the political career of local officials.

China's economic development is increasingly dependent on the activities of local governments. To maximize GDP, they increase their income by maintaining high real estate prices, car taxes, turnover tax. High incomes allow local governments to increase capital investments, develop grandiose projects.

Some targeted central government measures can still have some impact on local governments. The national government makes local governments responsible for controlling property prices by, for example, requiring developers to return land that has been left unoccupied for two years after licenses were purchased, threatening to sue developers who manipulate market prices and information, prohibiting the sale of government-owned land for residential development.

Too much city autonomy leads to uncontrolled growth and growing inequality, while trying to control cities can lead to limited local initiatives for economic growth. Central and local governments can cooperate on taxes, financial transfers, subsidies to help the poor and the unemployed.

The transformation of Chinese cities continues, and they bear the features of both cities of developed countries and developing countries.

4. PRC urban planning system

The urban planning system of the PRC is determined, on the one hand, by the structure and requirements of the national economy, and, on the other hand, by the structure of public administration. During the planned economy, the government played a dominant role in the allocation of resources, and urban planning was an integral part of the national economic plan. After the transition to a market economy, new problems arose in urban planning. First, given the decisive role of the market in the distribution of resources, urban planning must protect the interests of society. Secondly, new factors are beginning to influence decision-making in urban planning. Thirdly, in urban planning, a compromise must be struck between the public interest and the protection of private property rights. Fourthly, citizens should have the opportunity to choose both the place and environment of residence, and living standards. All this requires new approaches to the urban planning system in a market economy and its gradual reform.

1. The main features of the urban planning system in China.

There are 3 stages in the development of the urban planning system after the formation of the PRC. In the period from 1949 to 1957, great importance was attached to it, in the period 1958 - 1978. it has been neglected, and since the beginning of reforms and open politics, urban planning has been given renewed attention. With the acceleration of socio-economic growth and the development of the urbanization process, the role of urban planning is becoming increasingly important in regulating the development of the urban economy.

The Chinese government regards urban planning as an important method that determines the rational development, construction and management of cities, and delegates authority in this area to local governments at various levels.

During the period of steady growth of the Chinese economy, the number of cities in China is also growing. Corresponding urban development plans, which coordinate the use of land, construction, the nature of economic development and provide for the improvement of the living conditions of the population, are adopted in all cities of different levels and many villages.

Until the summer of 2007, the "Urban Planning Law" of 1990 was in force in China. Standing Committee of the 10th NPC. Whereas the former law only covered the scope of urban planning, the new law includes urban planning, rural municipality planning, rural planning and village planning. An integrated approach to urban and rural planning will make it possible to properly take into account the interdependence of the processes that are taking place in the city and the countryside, to solve problems associated with the expansion of urban territories at the expense of the nearest rural counties.

The legal system of urban planning in the PRC

After the "Urban Planning Law" passed by the NPC session in 1990 came into force, the central government accelerated the formation of a legal framework for urban planning. To date, about 20 laws and regulations have been adopted related to urban and rural planning at the state level. At the same time, many documents have also been adopted at the provincial level, and local governments at different levels have issued various regulations regarding the implementation of various kinds of documents.

Organizations in the field of urban planning.

Organizations in the field of urban planning have been established under the governments of the state, provincial, city and county levels, the total number of personnel is about 30 thousand people. The number of organizations involved in the development of approaches and the scientific study of urban planning reaches 2 thousand, employing more than 60 thousand people. The Society for Urban Planning has over 2,000 members. With the development of this sector, a whole network of various institutions and associations in the field of urban planning has been formed.

As stipulated in the "City Planning Law", the city planning system consists of the state level city planning system, the provincial level city planning system, urban master planning, urban district planning (Large and medium-sized cities develop relevant plans based on master plans ), detailed urban planning. In addition, it also includes urban system planning for those cities and counties that are on the master planning list and where governments are located.

Urban planning and design management includes the development of appropriate policies and regulations, qualification checks, qualification approval of planning plans, etc. Of the 2,000 institutions involved in urban planning and design, 119 are A-class qualified, 300 are B-class, more than 1,000 are C-qualified, and over 40,000 people work in this sector. After the system for confirming the qualifications of registered planners was adopted, about 10 thousand people. received such a qualification.

After the reorganization of the State Council in 1998, activities such as qualification inspections of urban planning organizations, annual inspections, and approval of implementation progress were transferred to the Urban Planning Society of the People's Republic of China. Validation activities for registered planners have been transferred to non-governmental institutions.

2. Development, approval and implementation of urban development plans in China.

The organization for the development and approval of urban development plans is defined in the "Urban Planning Law".

2.1 Organization of the development of urban development plans in China.

As defined in the "Urban Planning Law", the competent authorities (currently the Ministry of Construction) under the State Council are responsible for organizing the development of city system planning at the state level, the provincial governments and the governments of autonomous regions are responsible for organizing city system planning at the local level, city governments are responsible for organizing the development of planning for city master plans.

2.2 Approval of urban development plans in China

The urban development plans of the PRC are submitted to the State Council for approval by the competent authorities in charge of urban planning. The competent organs in the State Council in charge of urban planning review the city system plans in the provinces and autonomous regions, and then submit those plans to the State Council for approval. After approval by the State Council, the competent authorities initiate the start of planning work. The government at different levels reviews urban master plans according to their importance. The master plans of central cities, provincial capitals, and cities allocated by the State Council are controlled and coordinated by the governments of central cities and provinces, and then submitted to the State Council for approval (there are 86 such cities). The master plans of other cities are controlled and approved by the People's Congresses of the cities, and then approved by the governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and cities under the central government. The master plans of those smaller cities where the county governments (under the administration of the larger cities) are located are controlled and approved by the County People's Government Assemblies, and then submitted to the governments of the larger cities for approval. The city government approves neighborhood plans and detailed city plans.

It is established that the city government can make partial changes to the master plan, but must immediately report to the Standing Committee of the SNP of the appropriate level for consideration and approval by the bodies that approved the original version, after which these changes will be registered. For major changes to the master plan related to the environment, the scope and direction of development, and the general layout of the city, the city government must obtain permission from the People's Congress at the appropriate level, and then receive approval from the authorities that approved the original project.

2.3 Implementation of urban development plans in China

As provided by the Law, the implementation of urban development plans is carried out according to the official urban planning zones defined in the master plans. For these planning zones, documents such as "Location Proposal", "License for Land Development Planning", "Construction Design License" are required.

The implementation of urban development plans provides for the following procedures:

a) Urban development plans approved by the authorities must be published and open to the public;

b) Land use, development of land in official planning areas must be consistent with master plans;

c) Proposals for the choice of location, worked out by the competent authorities in the field of urban planning, must be submitted for the design of construction in planning zones;

d) If land within the planning zone is required for the construction of the facilities, official construction project documents must be submitted when the application has been approved by the city planning authorities. The authorities will determine the location of this land, its boundaries, consider the nature of its development, then check the license for land development planning;

e) Official documents are required for the construction, expansion and modification of buildings, roads, pipelines and other engineering structures within official planning zones. The application must be submitted to the competent authorities, who will determine the conditions for the changes, the design, then check the license for the design of the building;

f) Competent authorities supervise and control construction and land use by approving the initial stage, monitoring the process, completing works, and reviewing illegal actions. In accordance with the law, illegal actions in the field of land use and construction are considered;

g) Competent authorities have the right to participate in the acceptance of important construction projects within official planning zones to ascertain whether they comply with urban development plans.

3. Progress in urban planning reform

The systemic transformation from a planned to a market economy has led to significant changes in the process of urbanization and urban planning. The reform in urban planning is being carried out in accordance with the requirements for the creation of a market economy. Urban planning should be built in accordance with international approaches after China's accession to the WTO. The reform of the urban planning system has become an integral part of the reform of the Chinese government's system of government.

Three points should be emphasized. First, urban planning has become an element of state policy, with its help the distribution of resources is regulated, environmental protection is controlled, and plans for the spatial development of urban and rural construction are coordinated. Secondly, in a market economy, the diversification of investment objects should lead to the diversification of group interests. Not only public but also individual rights must be guaranteed in the urban planning process. The process from beginning to end should be open, with broad participation of the population. Urban planning becomes an element of social activity. Thirdly, urban planning is closely connected with the natural and social sciences, culture, which provide the search for the best options, use international experience.

Directions for deepening urban planning reforms are as follows:

at all stages of the implementation of urban development plans, public control should be carried out, the process should become more open and democratic;
all stages of the development and implementation of urban development plans should be coordinated to achieve maximum effect;
an urban planning management system should be created that allows for initiative at various levels, in accordance with the processes of decentralization of power, specific responsibilities and boundaries of authority at different levels;
it is necessary to simplify the procedures for the official approval of urban development plans, but at the same time increase attention to the legislative framework and the constant monitoring of processes.

Work is underway in the following key areas:

taking into account the changes taking place in the "city-rural" system, the "Law on urban and rural planning" was developed and is now being approved, which will allow for a comprehensive approach to the planning system of both urban and rural areas;
relevant documents have been prepared to regulate the protection of historical and cultural monuments in the process of urban development;
a new urban planning management system is being formed, which is more in line with the requirements of a market economy, giving more powers to governments at various levels;
a monitoring system is being created for the implementation of the city development plan at all its stages, an information system is being created to manage urban and rural planning;
the role of public oversight of the process of implementing urban development plans is being strengthened.

5. "Traps" of the city for some categories of the population

Modern processes of urbanization are characterized by unrestrained, spontaneous growth in the population of large cities as a result of intensive migration of residents from rural areas. While migrations were very small earlier due to the hukou system, after the abolition of this system and the rapid growth in the number of jobs, many rural residents rushed to the cities. Thus, in general, the task is to somewhat limit the flow of rural migrants. However, at the same time, large cities need to attract labor of certain categories, including a certain number of peasants, who often agree to perform unskilled work for less pay.

In the conditions of striving for a market economy, the Chinese leadership cannot use overtly administrative methods, therefore, it is looking for various levers that could provide a selective approach to ensuring the influx of certain groups of the population. In different cities, depending on their size and functional characteristics, different approaches are used to "regulate" the structure of labor resources.

Thus, in particular, "new urbanism" - new approaches to the formation of the urban environment in China - provides for the creation of financial streets, streets-bars and nightlife, boulevards and city squares, high-tech parks, enclaves for migrants ("villages inside the city") , condominiums, "gated communities" with exotic architecture. Such a human-friendly urban environment has already begun to be created in some cities in China.

One of the most interesting examples in this area is Shanghai, where the methods of attracting certain groups of the population are most diverse.

In Shanghai, in the context of dynamic economic development, there is an acute need to attract additional more skilled labor. In order to ensure the influx of new young talents, the Shanghai authorities have taken steps to facilitate registration for certain groups of the population.

For example, the enrollment of students in local universities and colleges, as well as in vocational institutions, has been significantly increased. The government has eased restrictions on hiring secondary-educated personnel and graduates from other parts of China, giving them more incentives to register in the city. Within the framework of the so-called. program "Green Card", already 106 thousand specialists received a special "Card of a resident of Shanghai", of which 2,800 were trained abroad. About 75% of them have a higher education, and about 10% have an advanced degree. Special additional opportunities are created for students who have studied abroad. They are provided with interest-free loans, preferential housing, assistance in starting their own business. All these measures are gradually changing the situation with the mismatch of the labor force with the requirements of a free economy.

In order to attract young people oriented towards the Western way of life, foreign tourists and businessmen, special neighborhoods and streets are being created in Shanghai that recreate the urban environment typical of European cities. So, for example, about 5 years ago, Xintiandi Street ("New Heaven on Earth") was built. On this street there are numerous coffee shops, pizzerias, bars with European food, cinemas with Western films, shops selling clothes of European brands. A foreigner, being on this "European" island, feels at home. The street crowd, visitors to cafes and shops are mostly foreigners, young people, and business representatives.

Inclusion in the processes of globalization also reflects the presence on the streets of the city of numerous McDonald's, pizzerias, hotels that are part of international chains.

The Pudong area in Shanghai is a special economic zone with preferential treatment for foreign capital, characterized by a special type of building, numerous skyscrapers. An urban environment has been created here that meets the needs of business to the greatest extent.

In Shanghai, as well as in Beijing and some other cities, "fenced communities" are being created for fairly well-to-do citizens, including foreigners, with special architecture. For example, the "Big East Garden", which has all the necessary facilities, including a swimming pool, a gym, tennis courts, a hairdresser's, a 24-hour supermarket. Housing prices in such communities are several times higher than in the city.

To relieve the most densely populated central regions of Shanghai, satellite cities are being built within Greater Shanghai (as a city of central subordination). Five years in Shanghai in the Songjiang district, just 15 minutes from the city center, was built - the city of "Thames Town" with typical British architecture. Since October 2006, 10 thousand inhabitants live here, the area is popular, and its population will grow to 500 thousand inhabitants. This city has completely recreated the English atmosphere, including the church, street decoration, etc. Foreigners who are ready to work in developing China, but do not want to live in "Chinese" conditions, can live in their own familiar environment. Among other satellite cities are the "islands" of Italy, Spain, Canada, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany.

The Shanghai authorities are taking special measures to attract labor of various qualifications, including unskilled labor from the countryside. By limiting prices for low-quality housing, building quarters for migrants, providing children with educational services, etc. they provide an opportunity for migrant peasants to gain a foothold in the city.

6. Shanghai is a world city "with Chinese characteristics"

China over the past decades has become a "world factory" for the production of various types of industrial products and, at the same time, a "world consumer" that provides demand for many goods produced by other states. The country is actively attracting foreign direct investment, and Chinese TNCs are gradually conquering world markets. The high degree of involvement of the PRC in the international division of labor and the need to maintain world economic relations led to the formation of its "representatives" in the system of world cities.

Currently, according to the developments of the GаWC research group, there are three world cities of different rank in China: Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai. The first of them is included in the highest category, the so-called "alpha" group of global centers. The city, being a dependent territory of Great Britain, was officially included in the PRC only in 1997 and continues to develop quite "autonomously" from the rest of the country. Beijing and Shanghai belong to the lower category, the "gamma" group of world cities, with a predominantly regional significance. Beijing, as the capital of the PRC, specializes primarily in performing political functions, is an important historical, cultural and leading tourist center of the country. Shanghai is China's clear geo-economic leader, a key node in the implementation of its world economic ties. The whole history of the city is connected with participation in world processes. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Chinese government is betting on Shanghai and helping to realize its potential to fulfill the functions of a world city. The PRC has proclaimed the goal: "By 2020, turn Shanghai into an economic, financial, commercial and transport center of the world, a modern global city" .

This choice is determined by a number of competitive advantages of Shanghai in relation to both the largest agglomerations of China and other world cities, primarily Asia. Among them, first of all, it is necessary to highlight the following:

Benefits of the economic and geographical position of Shanghai - a port city at the intersection of water and land trade routes. By sea, it is connected with many countries of the world and with the coastal regions of China, along the river. Yangtze - with the deep territories of the country and with southwestern China. Hong Kong also has a favorable economic and geographical position, but its status as a "special administrative region" and its position in the far south of the country make it difficult to interact with the hinterland - the hinterland of China. Another rival of Shanghai, Beijing, has an inland position, which significantly complicates external relations;

The specifics of the historical and geographical conditions for the formation of Shanghai, for which, almost always, ties with other parts of the country were of much less importance than with foreign partners. The rapid development of the city began in the second half of the 19th century, when, as a result of the "opium" wars, China was forced to open a number of coastal territories to foreigners, and the settlements of England and the United States, as well as the French concession, arose on the territory of Shanghai. At the beginning of the 20th century the influence of Japanese capital, which organized the construction of the first factories, increased on the city's economy. Major investment from other countries soon followed, beginning the development of a local industrial base. In a historically very short time, Shanghai has become the largest commercial and industrial center of the country. It should be noted that Hong Kong, although it had close ties with the Chinese economy, but being a dependent territory for a long time, could not claim the role of a "leading" Chinese city. The capital city of Beijing determined its traditional orientation towards the priority provision of internal Chinese relations;

Shanghai stands out for its high innovation potential. There is a much better supply of the economy with qualified personnel, there are much more research institutions, high-tech parks, etc. All this allows the city to reach a higher level of modernization of the economy, making it more competitive. According to the "China Innovation Index - 2006" recently published by the Renmin University of China, Shanghai ranks first;

Another important advantage of Shanghai is the special urban environment of the "Western" type, which has been formed over many decades of the presence of foreign capital. Under the conditions of "Chinese specifics", the atmosphere itself, the special "microclimate", as well as, of course, the modern business infrastructure created in Shanghai, are much more familiar to foreign businessmen for living and solving business issues. In this regard, perhaps only Hong Kong in the PRC is able to "oppose" Shanghai at the proper level;

The common "denominator" of China's global centers, which distinguishes them favorably from world cities in other countries, is, of course, the relative cheapness of labor and the colossal potential capacity of the consumer market. These factors make Chinese cities especially attractive for foreign investment and create favorable conditions for further concentration of economic activity.

With all the significance of the factors already mentioned, one of the main reasons for the rise of Shanghai is its development with the active participation of the state. Already the first stages of economic reform in the PRC, which began in 1978 and proclaimed a policy of "let some regions become prosperous earlier than others," led to the accelerated development of coastal territories, including Shanghai. In 1984, he was among the 14 cities "open" to foreign capital. But the city's economy began to grow most dynamically after the creation of the Pudong Special Economic Zone in the early 1990s. Formation of a favorable investment climate, preferential tax treatment, developed business infrastructure - all this contributed to attracting domestic and foreign investment and strengthening the role of Shanghai as a gateway for foreign investment to enter the Chinese market. In terms of economic growth, Shanghai has not only outpaced many other parts of the country, but has become one of the fastest growing urban economies in the world. As a result, the city has greatly strengthened the position of the unofficial "economic" capital of the PRC. At the present stage, its development is essentially in accordance with the concept of "global city-regions", which implies the formation of large megalopolises that perform important functions in the global economy.

Shanghai's economy is closely linked to the world economy. A significant part of Shanghai's industrial output is destined for export. The turnover of the city's foreign trade operations is growing rapidly: in 2000 it exceeded 70 billion dollars, and by the end of 2005 - already 180 billion. The Shanghai agglomeration accounts for about 11-12% of China's total foreign trade. A huge range of products enters the foreign market, including complete equipment, televisions, audio and video equipment, washing machines, non-ferrous metals, textiles, etc. But the main export items are engineering and electronics products - 65.1% in 2005, and high-tech products account for 40%. Automobiles, motorcycles, the most diverse equipment for industry, a wide range of products of the chemical industry, etc. are imported. More than half of all imported goods are varied and small-scale products, from integrated circuits to food products. Goods produced in China by foreign companies account for about 65% of all exports. The geography of Shanghai's foreign trade is very wide: with 205 countries of the world in terms of exports and with 90 countries in terms of imports. Almost half of external supplies go to just three countries: the US (25%), Japan (15%), and Germany (4.5%). No less concentration and import flows: Japan (18%), USA (12%), Taiwan (10.5%), Republic of Korea (8.5%), Germany (7.0%) .

It should be noted that according to customs statistics, Shanghai accounts for about 25% of the country's total foreign trade turnover. The discrepancy with the above information is closely related to the role of the Shanghai port as a super center for handling transit cargo. It serves almost the entire Primorsky region of the PRC, which is not only one of the main suppliers of the most diverse products abroad, but also a kind of "intermediary" in marketing relations both between the internal territories of the country and in their contacts with the outside world. Since the beginning of the 21st century In terms of total cargo turnover, the Shanghai port becomes the largest in the world and is ahead of the leaders of Rotterdam and Singapore for a long time. In 2006, its cargo turnover amounted to 540 million tons. In terms of container handling, Shanghai is second only to Hong Kong and Singapore.

The active development of industrial and port functions somewhat "obscures" the growth of the city in other directions. Shanghai is China's leading financial center. At the end of 2005, there were 123 different financial institutions operating in the city, with 14 foreign banks entitled to conduct operations in the national Chinese currency, and 29 branches of foreign banks were head offices responsible for conducting activities in the PRC as a whole. One of the two stock exchanges in China is located here (the other is in Shenzhen). Shanghai has historically developed as a major scientific and educational center. At present, there are about 60 universities in the city, and compared to other regions of the country, the proportion of educational institutions that train specialists in the field of business is higher. A powerful research and design base is represented by several hundred research institutes, which allows you to create new and increasingly complex, high-tech industries. Shanghai's leadership in the scientific and technical field largely ensures a high level of both product quality and overall industrial efficiency. The number of diplomatic missions in the city is rapidly growing (now there are already 55), close partnerships have been established with 66 cities (or other administrative units) from 50 countries of the world. In Russia, Shanghai's sister city is Saint Petersburg. More than 80 offices of news agencies from almost 20 countries have already been opened. Media interest in Shanghai as a source of news testifies to the city's growing influence on the global geo-economic situation.

Shanghai is the only city in China with two airports - Hongqiao and Pudong, put into operation in 1999. More than 50 foreign airlines operate in them and over 300 airlines are served. Pudong Airport is by far the largest in China in terms of international traffic. In 2006, the volume of its passenger turnover amounted to about 20 million people. The airport's long-term development plan includes the construction of four terminals and four parallel runways, after which its total capacity should reach 80 million, and according to some estimates 100 million, passengers per year. This exceeds the current volume of passenger traffic of the current world leader - Atlanta International Airport. Hongqiao Airport, which back in 2003 had twice the passenger turnover of Pudong Airport, has now been switched to serve only domestic flights.

Thus, an important component of the functioning of Shanghai as a world city is its involvement in international relations, primarily economic ones. Inclusion in the international division of labor, a high share in the production of competitive products of the PRC, which is in demand on the world market, a vast hinterland served by the port - all this leads to an increased participation of Shanghai in world economic relations.

Shanghai is in the competitive field of Singapore and Hong Kong - world cities of the first order. All three centers are part of the Asia-Pacific subsystem of global cities, the youngest in time of formation, which is characterized, on the one hand, by the clear superiority of the capital of Japan, and, on the other hand, by the large number and high growth dynamics of "secondary" world cities. At present, Hong Kong is noticeably ahead of Shanghai and Singapore in terms of GDP (PPP), ranking 14th among the leading geo-economic centers of the world (Shanghai - 32nd, Singapore - 36th). However, experts predict that due to the outpacing economic growth, by 2020 Shanghai will move up to 16th place in the ranking, “break away” from Singapore (40th place) and practically overtake Hong Kong (14th place). The gap between cities will also be significantly reduced in terms of GDP (according to PPP) per capita. Today, according to this indicator, Shanghai is more than four times inferior to its opponents.

It is interesting to compare the macrostructure of the economy of the three Asian centers, which in many respects sets off their economic specialization and main functions in the world economy. In the case of Hong Kong, its proportions are most typical of the world's leading cities, where the tertiary sector has long been the backbone of the economy. Singapore and Shanghai have a distinct production component in common. In the structure of the economy in the first of them, the share of industry accounts for more than 1/3 of GDP, and in the second - even more. Thus, apparently, the competition for the role of the second, after the undividedly dominating in the Tokyo region, industrial world city of Asia will go exactly between them.

Table 5. GDP structure of Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore, in %, 2006

*For Shanghai - production by sectors of the economy.

Sources: Shanghai tongji nianjian, 2007. Beijing, 2007. (Statistical Yearbook of Shanghai), CIA. The World Factbook, 2007. http://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook

Despite the fact that the share of high-tech products in Shanghai's exports exceeds 40%, Singapore's superiority in high-tech production in the region remains. Differences in the structure of industrial production in Singapore and Shanghai may help to avoid intense competition for world leadership.

Compared to its opponents, Shanghai's position is much weaker, primarily as a financial center and a center for managing international economic flows. Thus, in terms of the number of regional headquarters and representative offices of TNCs, Hong Kong and Singapore are noticeably ahead of Shanghai. In Hong Kong in 2005, there were 1,167 foreign companies with regional headquarters and 2,631 companies with regional offices. More than 3.5 thousand of the world's leading companies have branches in Singapore, more than 120 TNCs have their regional offices here. Shanghai currently has 124 TNC headquarters, 130 foreign investment companies, and 170 R&D centers of TNCs.

The backlog of the industrial giant China in the international financial sphere is even greater. For example, Hong Kong is the second largest financial center in Asia. Its main feature is the speculative orientation of the operations performed. The city ranks third (after London and New York) in the world in terms of the volume of transactions in the gold market, fifth (more than 90 billion dollars daily, 5% of the world volume) in the currency exchange and eighth (280 billion dollars) in securities market. Hong Kong is the 11th largest banking center in the world. There are branches and representative offices of about 550 banks and financial companies from 40 countries, including 85 of the 100 largest banks in the world. The financial services sector also plays an important role in Singapore's economy, accounting for 11% of GDP. The annual turnover of the Singapore currency exchange is second only to London, New York and Tokyo. The volume of annual operations on the stock exchange exceeds 25 billion dollars. Singapore, practicing a preferential tax regime, is the only financial center among the third world countries with a full range of all functions, i.e. the gold market, the foreign exchange market, the bank loan market and the stock market. Recently, Singapore and Hong Kong have successfully taken over part of the financial functions from the main financial center of the region - Tokyo.

Despite the policy of "open economy", Shanghai has not yet managed to reach the level of its main competitors in terms of attracting foreign investment and the scale of international cooperation. So far, the role of Shanghai in the global financial market remains rather modest. Although, in recent years, its value has been growing quite rapidly, including in connection with the boom in the Chinese stock market. At present, the market value of the Shanghai Stock Exchange is about 1.7 billion dollars. According to this indicator, it ranks 9th in the world and is still inferior to Hong Kong. In 2006, the largest ever initial public offering was made jointly on the Shanghai and Hong Kong sites, which indicates the growth of trust between competitors and the establishment of mutually beneficial cooperation.

One of the important factors in terms of finding and asserting its "place in the sun" is the rapid development of the Shanghai port, including its container terminal. This largely affects the change in the balance of power not only in the port system of the Asian region, but also in servicing international trade and the importance of cities as geo-economic centers. Back in the early 2000s. The region was dominated by two powerful port complexes - Hong Kong and Singapore. Their main competitive advantage was their better suitability for receiving large ocean-going main container ships (2.5-6 thousand containers per ship). And today, Hong Kong and Singapore are practically monopolists in receiving large main container ships, which gives them the right to set fairly high prices for loading and unloading goods. However, the Shanghai port is already seriously competing with them. Its prospects largely depend on the scale of the city's participation in international trade operations. So far (2005), in terms of annual trade turnover, Shanghai ($180 billion) is significantly inferior to Hong Kong ($400 billion), which ranks eighth in the ranking of world trade participants.

Thus, Shanghai will not be able to compete on an equal footing with Hong Kong and Singapore if it follows the traditional path of development for global cities, primarily in the service sector - its lag is too great. Shanghai, relying on the support of the Chinese government, purposefully creating conditions for the development of world economic functions, has already chosen its own path. Being formed as an innovation-industrial and logistics global center, it has every chance to occupy a special niche in the system of world cities.

The formation of China's megalopolises has become the main content of the urbanization policy of the Chinese leadership at the present stage. The Chinese leadership is taking targeted actions to form megalopolises, including the adoption of program documents at the highest state level; holding coordination meetings of the management of the subjects included in the megalopolises; budgetary support, primarily through the participation of the state in the construction of infrastructure facilities; creation of a single information center, etc. A special role is assigned to external factors of the formation of megalopolises.

The transition to a market economy has had a significant impact on the appearance of Chinese cities, which has been significantly transformed in recent years. From "cities-producers" developing according to a strict plan, there is a gradual transition to a "consumer city". The urban environment becomes spatially heterogeneous, tends to satisfy the diverse interests of the population. In transforming the urban environment, the central government cooperates closely with the regional authorities, encouraging and supporting their initiatives.

The PRC has developed a complex, multi-level system of urban planning, which is constantly being improved. At present, a new "Law on Urban and Rural Planning" is being approved, which allows for a comprehensive approach to the process, taking into account the interests of both urban and rural areas. China's urban planning system is hierarchically structured, and local city authorities are given fairly large powers.

City authorities are taking various measures to form an "optimal" structure of city dwellers: attracting an educated workforce, rural migrants, and foreign businessmen. The creation of urban areas with characteristics that meet the needs of certain groups of the population is one of the important activities of city authorities.

The leadership of the People's Republic of China sets the task of forming "their own" world cities. Shanghai is becoming such a global city. The specifics of its formation as a world city was that it is being formed primarily as an innovative and industrial logistics global center, the "main workshop" of the Chinese "world factory". A special role in this process is played by the "special economic zone" Pudong, which includes certain functional zones. Finding its way to world cities allows Shanghai to avoid intense competition with Hong Kong and Singapore, to occupy its own niche in the world economy.

Reported in China Daily, 12 June 2006 ; reprinted and accessed on Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI)’s Web site at http://www.adbi.org/e-newsline/index.html

Chinese system of chronology

The Chinese system of chronology originated over 3,000 years ago. Already at that time, astronomical observatories arose here and observations of planets and stars began, and astronomers were especially interested in the largest planets - Jupiter and Saturn. It was found that Jupiter completes its circuit in 12, and Saturn in 30 years. When compiling the calendar, the time of two revolutions of Saturn, equal to 60 years, was taken as the basis. This period, in turn, was divided into five 12-year parts - according to the number of revolutions of Jupiter around the Sun. This is how the traditional 60-year and 12-year cycles of the Chinese calendar, which is usually called solar-Jovian, arose. It is also called the luni-solar-Jovian calendar, since the alternation of individual months in it is based not on the phases of the Sun, but on the phases of the Moon.

Each year of the 12-year cycle has its own complex symbolism, including "earth roots", "elements of nature" (wood, fire, earth, metal, water), "elements" (spring, summer, autumn, winter), etc. In addition, this cycle is combined with a 12-year cycle common in the East since ancient times, in which each year has the name of one of the 12 animals.

According to legend, Buddha once invited many animals to celebrate the New Year. But only 12 came - a rat (mouse), a bull (cow), a tiger, a hare, a dragon, a snake, a horse, a sheep (ram), a monkey, a rooster, a dog and a pig (boar). As a reward, the Buddha gave each of them one year: 12 moons, 12 years, 12 animals. Since ancient times, it is believed that these animals have the ability to endow with their inherent features to everyone who was born under their sign. So, the snake acts as a symbol of wisdom, the bull - endurance and poise, the tiger - courage, the rooster - sincerity, etc.

Since the same animal occurs five times in each 60-year cycle, albeit at intervals of 12 years, the Chinese use colors to specify the year within a large cycle. For example, the year of the monkey in the big cycle has serial numbers 9, 21, 33, 45 and 57. But the first of them is designated as the year of the black monkey, the second - blue, the third - red, the fourth - yellow and the fifth - white monkey.

The system of chronology in China, as well as in some other countries of East and Southeast Asia, was also greatly influenced by the tradition of starting the countdown of a new era from the time of the accession of the next emperor to the throne. The last emperor of China, who ruled from 1909 to 1911, was Pu-yi. At present, in China, especially in the urban environment, along with the traditional one, the European (Gregorian) calendar is also used.

Throughout its history, China has remained a typical rural country. Despite the fact that back in the Middle Ages, Beijing, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuchang, Guangzhou and some others became major cities, and at the end of the 19th century. Shanghai became one of the first three million-plus cities in Asia, the vast majority of the country's population was rural. And in 1949, when the PRC was formed, only 10% of the population lived in its cities. This means that the level of urbanization in China was very low.

During the years of people's power, with the beginning of the industrialization of the country, the process of urbanization accelerated. In general, it reflected all the main features of the global urbanization process, but nevertheless, each of them acquired a purely Chinese specificity.

First of all, this applies to rates and levels of urbanization. As in many other developing countries, the pace of urbanization in China has been high, and it has reached the level that is commonly referred to as "urban explosion". As a result, during the first 40 years of the existence of the PRC (1949–1989), this level increased significantly (Table 36).

Table 36 shows that in four decades the level of urbanization in the country has risen five times, exceeding 50%. In terms of the total number of city dwellers, China came out on top in the world, far surpassing India, the United States and other countries. Then, in the 1990s, urbanization made new strides.

Table 36

CHINA'S URBAN AND RURAL POPULATION DYNAMICS FROM 1949 TO 1989

However, such major conclusions require at least three comments reflecting the mentioned Chinese specificity.

First, it concerns reasons for the growth of the city. It is known that, in principle, there can be three such reasons: a) natural population growth in the cities themselves; b) migration of the population from rural areas to cities; c) administrative expansion of the territory of cities and an increase in their number. All three of these factors contributed to the growth of the urban population in China, but the proportion between them was rather unusual: 25% of the growth was provided by natural growth, 20% by internal migration of the population, and 55% by administrative changes.

The fact is that in the second half of the XX century. the very concept of "city" in China has changed repeatedly. At first, the city "quota" here was perhaps the highest in the world, since a city was considered a settlement with a population of more than 100 thousand people (!) And only in some cases - with a smaller population. However, the administrative reform undertaken in 1984 drastically changed the previous approach. By decision of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, a city began to be considered a center of industry, trade or craft with a population of more than 3,000 people, directly controlled by the county administration, in which 85% of the inhabitants are employed outside of agriculture. It is clear that such a measure could not but lead to an abrupt increase in the number of citizens.

But that's not all. At the same time, the administrative expansion of the territory of cities was carried out, the population of which included residents not only of near and far suburbs, but also of vast rural areas. According to the plan of the reformers, the creation of such “rural cities” was supposed to help smooth out the differences between the city and the countryside, spread the urban lifestyle to the countryside, reduce the outflow of residents from the village to the city, and also better provide the cities with food. As a result of the expansion of the territories of large cities, hundreds of thousands and even millions of people are employed in agriculture (for example, in Beijing and Tianjin - 1.2 million each, in Chengdu - 1 million, in Guangzhou - 700 thousand). One can agree with S. N. Rakovsky, who called this situation “semi-urbanization”.

Particularly striking in this regard is the example of Chongqing, which in 1997 became the country's fourth city of central subordination. At the same time, he was allocated an area of 82 thousand km 2 from the territory of the huge Sichuan province in terms of the number of inhabitants, which is approximately equal to the territory of Austria or the Czech Republic! And the number of inhabitants within its new limits amounted to 31 million people, i.e., respectively, 3.6 and 3 times more than in these countries! Interestingly, out of 30 million, 7.5 million people live in Chongqing itself (with its suburbs), while the rest is in other cities and rural areas. So it turns out that the administrative city of Chongqing now produces more agricultural products than many European countries. This is one of the Chinese paradoxes.

All of the above explains why China's urbanization rate, shown in Table 36, is very different from the official UN data. According to the latter, the proportion of city dwellers in China in 2005 was 43% of the total population, which is below the world average and approximately equal to the level for a group of developing countries. According to the same data, the total number of urban residents in China increased as follows: in 1985 - 251 million, in 1990 - 302 million, in 2000 - more than 400 million, and in 2005 - 560 million people. Nor is it surprising that the UN does not consider Chongqing, with its 30 million inhabitants, to be the largest city in the world.

Secondly, the specificity of China is reflected in uneven process of urbanization. A visual representation of it is given by the same table 36. From its data it follows that in 1949-1960, i.e., in the initial period of industrialization, there was a progressive development of urbanization processes, associated primarily with large-scale industrial construction in cities and moving to them labor force from rural areas. Then, in 1961-1963, there was not only a relative, but even an absolute decrease in the urban population, due to the collapse of the economy in the previous period of the “Great Leap Forward”, when, as already noted, the total population of the country also decreased. Further, during the second half of the 1960s and 1970s, the level of urbanization did not change, and the absolute growth of the urban population was relatively small (from 1 million to 4 million per year). This is precisely the period when administrative measures were taken to prohibit resettlement in the cities and, moreover, 16 million people were evicted "for re-education" in the countryside. In the early 1980s this stabilization was replaced by a slight rise.

But the second half of the 1980s is especially noteworthy, when a real “urban explosion” began in China. Indeed, in just a few years, the share of the urban population has doubled, and the absolute number of city dwellers has increased 2.5 times, with an average annual increase of 50–60 million, and in 1984 even reached 90 million people! It is not difficult to guess that such a jump is explained by the administrative reform carried out this year. And only in the 1990s. and at the beginning of the 21st century, when China's economy experienced a big boom, the dynamics of the urbanization process also became stable and sustainable. The total number of cities increased to 600.

Rice. 94. Millionaire agglomerations of China

Thirdly, the specifics of China include extremely uneven distribution of the urban population throughout the country. At the same time, the main "watershed" runs between the eastern and western regions of China. In order to somehow reduce this disproportion, the government from the very beginning gave priority to the development of old and the formation of new cities in the interior and border regions of the country. Here, predominantly small and medium-sized cities arose, but near the main new buildings there were often large ones, and even cities with millionaires (Baotou, Lanzhou, etc.). But nevertheless, even today, the vast majority of all cities (9/10) are located in the eastern part of the country. The most urbanized are the provinces of the Northeast, North, East and South of China, while in the whole of the Chinese West the level of urbanization is much lower.

In full accordance with the global process of urbanization, China is not just growing cities, but growth of big cities More specifically, urban agglomerations. This can be seen especially clearly in the example of millionaire agglomerations. There were 20 in 1980, 34 in 1990, and 46 in 2000 (excluding Taiwan) (Fig. 94). Already in the mid-1990s. they concentrated half of all the urban inhabitants of the country.

Recently, geographers have been paying attention to the rapid growth in China of not just millionaire cities, but super-large cities with a population of more than 5 million and even 10 million people. In 2005, already 17 urban agglomerations of the PRC had more than 6 million inhabitants. The population of three of them exceeded 10 million: Shanghai (17.4), Beijing (14.9) and Chengdu (10.4). From 9 to 10 million inhabitants lived in Harbin, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, from 7 to 8 million - Chongqing, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Changchun, Xi'an, from 6 to 7 million - Shenyang, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Changsha.

Table 36

CHINA'S URBAN AND RURAL POPULATION DYNAMICS FROM 1949 TO 1989

However, such major conclusions require at least three comments reflecting the mentioned Chinese specificity.

Rice. 94. Millionaire agglomerations of China

Currently, the People's Republic of China (PRC) is showing the world an unprecedented rate of urban population growth. Cities and industrial enterprises are being built. The colossal potential of the nation, based primarily on a large population and relatively cheap labor, made it possible to attract impressive financial flows to the country. This, in turn, spurs the processes of urbanization. Large cities and economically powerful urban agglomerations spring up like mushrooms after rain.

The largest metropolitan areas and cities in China

On the territory of modern China there are a number of zones in which a huge population, infrastructure and capital are concentrated. The table shows the largest urban-type settlements in China.

Name of the agglomeration	Population size
Guangzhou
Shanghai
Beijing
Tianjin
Xiamen
Chengdu
Hangzhou
Wuhan
Shantou
Shenyang
Chongqing
Nanjing
Xian (Xi "an)
Wenzhou
Qingdao

It should be noted that the presented geographical objects are agglomerations, that is, compact clusters of large and small cities. The borders between them are practically erased, there are common transport systems.

Causes of urbanization in China

China has remained a predominantly peasant country for most of its history. The industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries, which took place in the West, bypassed the side of heaven. But this could not continue indefinitely. Much has changed in the 20th century.

During the first half of the 20th century, there was a gradual increase in the share of the urban population. Especially this process revived in the late fifties and early sixties of the last century. This is due to the development of industrial production, which required a certain number of young workers from the countryside.

From the late sixties to the mid-seventies of the last century, the reverse process was observed. There was a partial return of the population to the countryside. The reason for this was the Cultural Revolution.

But everything changed in the late seventies, when reforms were launched that radically transformed the Chinese economy. Under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, a member of the Chinese Communist Party, channels were created for the inflow of foreign direct investment. As a result, large sections of the rural population were provided with employment opportunities in cities. The rapid growth of the urban population began.

Growth Factors and Population Projections in China

As mentioned above, the main growth factor in China is the inflow of foreign capital into the country's economy. This, in turn, contributes to the growth of cities, the development of industrial production. Nationally oriented sectors of the economy are being created, which work primarily in the interests of the PRC.

It should be noted that one should treat statistical data with a certain degree of caution. This is due to changes in the criteria that are used when calculating the share of the urban population. For example, in the course of the 1953 census, settlements with a population of more than 2,500 people were classified as cities, provided that more than half of the people are employed not in agriculture. And in the process of conducting the census in 1964, settlements with more than 3,000 inhabitants were classified as cities, while at least 70% of the people had to be employed in the non-agricultural sector. In the 1980s, the criteria by which a locality could have the status of a city were further simplified. From now on, the urban population was considered to be the rural population, which lived in close proximity to large industrial facilities. The percentage of the required share of people not employed in agriculture was also reduced.

According to numerous studies conducted by scientists both in China itself and in other countries of the world, the processes of urbanization in China will continue. Forecasts vary. The following table shows one of the forecasts, which was prepared by a group of researchers from Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences. These results were obtained on the basis of rather complex mathematical and statistical calculations.

	Estimated % urban population

The history of the growth of China's major centers

Guangzhou, formerly known as Canton, is one of the largest cities in China. Together with its suburbs, it forms the largest urban agglomeration in the country. It is the capital of Guangdong Province. Throughout its centuries-old history, Guangzhou has been closely connected with the rest of the world. Ships with goods departed from the ports of this city to Europe and other parts of the world. It is not surprising that after the reforms of the 70s, it became one of the main points of growth for Chinese industry, as well as trade and the financial sector.

Shanghai is the largest city in the world in terms of population and forms a large urban agglomeration. Like many other modern Asian cities, Shanghai owes its heyday to a long trading tradition. The 20th century saw an increase in industrial production. And at the turn of the 21st century, thanks to a number of reforms, including tax reforms, and the assignment of a special status to the city, capital began to move to this zone.

Beijing, the capital of modern China, has more than one millennium of history behind it. The city lived developed during the reign of different dynasties. But rapid industrial growth occurred in the 20th century. At present, Beijing is the administrative, scientific, cultural and business center of the PRC, where outstanding achievements coexist with a number of social and environmental problems.

Ghost towns in China

In the 2000s, the government of the People's Republic of China approved a project to build a number of new cities. The highlight of the program was that the design and construction was carried out according to the approved urban planning plan with the formation of a full-fledged infrastructure. At the same time, the process of settling new cities lags far behind the pace of completion of their construction. So in modern China, the phenomenon of ghost towns arose. A typical ghost town is a modern metropolis built from scratch. It has residential areas, sites for industrial facilities, real estate for tenants, hospitals, schools, universities, airports. All this is interconnected by modern roads and various communications. Despite the fact that there are still few people living there, the infrastructure is maintained in good condition.

As for the reasons why the construction of such cities began, there are different opinions on this matter. In any case, this gave an additional impetus to the development of technology in the country, and also provided people with jobs. Experts agree that the cities will gradually be populated. Their layout meets the requirements of the new millennium in terms of logistics and other aspects of urban planning of the urban environment.

Population migration in China

Historically, China has always been a country with relatively divided population groups. But since the second half of the 20th century, due to well-known economic and political changes, migration processes began to grow in the country.

In the 1950s, people flocked to the developing industrial cities in search of work. Twenty years later, as part of the Cultural Revolution, educated rural youth began to return en masse to the countryside. This process is called the "Great Leap Forward". The migration flows that can be observed today took shape after the implementation of economic reforms. In the following illustration, the provinces of China with a higher population density are marked with a more intense red color, and it is there that the main migration flows are directed.

It is possible to distinguish three types of migration in modern China with a sufficient degree of conventionality: permanent, seasonal and temporary. Permanent migration is a gradual outflow of people from the countryside to the cities. It is the basis of the social link of the urban process. The seasonal pattern of migration exists due to natural cycles, which are important for the cultivation of crops. Simply put, peasants who are temporarily not employed in agriculture look for work in the city for a short time. Temporary migration is associated with personal and other, including legally fixed, needs to leave the place of residence for a while.

Percentage of urban and rural population in China

There are different approaches to determining the share of the urbanized population. It all depends on which locality is considered a city and what segments of the population can be attributed to urban residents. The following graph presents data on the proportion of the urban population of the PRC in the past and today. This implies that the urban population includes rural residents living within large metropolitan areas and agglomerations. These people, although they lead a predominantly peasant lifestyle, nevertheless interact more and more with the urban environment, including employment. Of course, these data can be challenged.

Logistics and tourist centers inside China

Over the past few decades, large agglomerations have formed in the People's Republic of China, which are not only the concentration of production and capital, but also tourist centers.

Hong Kong is rightfully considered the business center of modern China. Hong Kong returned to the Chinese state in 1997 and became more deeply involved in the economic life of the country. This metropolis has a huge number of business centers, on the sites of which the most influential and capitalized companies not only in China, but throughout the world have deployed their representative offices.

Beijing, with its centuries-old history, has attracted tourists and travelers at all times. Today, the tourist infrastructure of the capital of China is amazing. All conditions for the development of this type of business have been created. The international airport receives aircraft from all over the world. A system of hotels has been deployed for every taste and budget.

Beijing is a multifaceted city. It attracts not only tourists, but also businessmen from all over the world. Within the framework of the Beijing urban agglomeration, many large transport hubs operate.

Shenzhen, located in the Guangdong province and part of the Guangzhou agglomeration, is one of the largest business and transport hubs not only in the southern part of the country, but in the whole of China.

It should be noted that all the main logistics and tourist centers of China are located mainly in the southeastern and eastern parts of the country. This is how it happened historically. The proximity of the seas and deltas of large rivers predetermined the future fate of these areas. On the basis of the economic potential that was accumulated in the past, today in these places there is a rapid industrial development of an innovative nature.

Thus, the processes of urbanization in modern China are in full swing. The Chinese economy is developing, which has imperceptibly and quite deeply infiltrated the Western economic system. Nevertheless, these processes are accompanied by a number of problems, including social and environmental ones. Whether they will be overcome, time will tell.