ABSTRACT
China's rapid urban growth since the early 1980s, measured both by the increasing number of urban population and cities and by the rate of urbanization, displays an impressive record. It is well known that China is the largest country in the world in terms of population. Throughout Chinese history, the urban population concentrates in several administrative cities with a low urbanization rate until the 1980s. Moreover, urbanization has been officially employed as a means to promote economic growth. Foreign direct investment (FDI) creates jobs that attract migrants to cities, which in turn stimulates booming urban economies since the 1980s. The 1978 reform brought China into a new age. An active public-private partnership has been a key factor to China's success, and the building of such a partnership could help other developing nations to rise out of urban poverty. Chinese law allows rural land to be converted to urban uses only by municipal governments.
