BEIJING, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) – China has made a significant achievement in urban construction and development during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), said an official with China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on Monday.
China had a total of 684 cities by the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period, with the built-up urban area amounting to 60,300 square km, Wang Menghui, minister of housing and urban-rural development, said at a working conference.
In 2019, China saw the per capita housing areas of urban and rural residents reach 39.8 square meters and 48.9 square meters, respectively.
According to Wang, China will fully implement urban renewal program in 2021 to promote high-quality urban development, push forward urban cities' structure optimization, and function and quality improvement, as well as accelerate the construction of livable, green, resilient, smart and cultural cities.
China started renovations of nearly 39,700 old urban residential communities in the first 11 months of this year as part of the country's stepped up efforts to improve living conditions in old residential areas, benefiting nearly 7.25 million households.
(Edited by Yang Yifan with Xinhua Silk Road, yangyifan@xinhua.org)
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