Shanghai to Keep Low Population GrowthShanghai, China's powerhouse, will continue to keep a low population growth rate, according to a local government working conference on population held Saturday in Shanghai.By the end of 2010, the resident population will not exceed 16 million. Gong Xueping, deputy secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, said that even though the government's efforts have proven efficient in preventing the population from growing too fast, it is still necessary to focus on rigorous implementation of the family planning policy. The conflict between huge population and sparse natural resources will remain an obstacle to the city's overall development, said Gong. The number of people over 65 accounts for 18.4 percent of the city's total population last year and the figure is likely to hit 23.9 percent by 2010. |
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