China’s leaders have revealed a plan for a multiyear round of state-led infrastructure construction that they hope will prop up the economy amid flagging growth, as they move 100m more people from the rural hinterland into the country’s growing cities.
The Chinese government’s “National New-type Urbanisation Plan”, revealed on Sunday, envisions a massive building programme of transport networks, urban infrastructure and residential real estate from now until 2020.
While promising to make China’s urbanisation more “human-centred and environmentally friendly”, the plan also explicitly targets the boosting of headline growth at a time when China’s economy is slowing after years of frenetic credit-fuelled infrastructure and property investment.