China outlines roadmap to build better cities

China has issued guidelines on urban development. It comes two months after leaders met for the central Urban Work Conference.

The guidelines aim to ensure Chinese cities are more liveable and green. In 1978, when China held its last Central Urban Work Conference, only 18 percent of the population lived in cities. The ratio had climbed to more than 56 percent by the end of 2015.  And urbanization has brought many problems, including traffic jams and air pollution. The document gives priority to the protection of farmland.

It also calls for city planners to take resource, energy and environmental protection into consideration. Urban infrastructure needs to be improved both underground and aboveground.