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Staff Writers, Seed Daily
Beijing (AFP) Oct 10, 2011
http://www.seeddaily.com/reports/China_says_100_mln_farmers_to_move_to_cities_by_2020_999.html
More than 100 million Chinese farmers will move to cities by 2020, posing huge challenges for urban planners and already stretched social welfare systems, according to a new official forecast.
China has seen an unprecedented wave of urbanisation as millions of migrant workers have flooded cities to provide the cheap labour that has helped the world's second-largest economy achieve breakneck growth.
A new government report released to some state media on Sunday said the urban population would top 800 million by 2020, up from 666 million in 2010, as more rural Chinese sought better incomes in the cities.
China's rapid urbanisation is already creating social problems, with migrant workers often treated as class citizens, and the National Population and Family Planning Commission report called for "equal public services" for all.