On the road to quality urbanization

Editor's note: Following are excerpts from the speeches delivered by four senior scholars at China Urban Forum 100 in early June, which focused on "Four decades of Chinese cities' reform and opening-up":

Urbanization with Chinese characteristics

This year marks the 40th anniversary of reform and opening-up, and the Chinese leadership has emphasized they will continue to play a critical role in the economic development of China. Reform and opening-up, to a large extent, liberated China's social productive forces, which drastically changed China's urban and rural areas, improving people's lives and livelihoods. In this sense, urban development is the concentrated embodiment of the achievements of China's reform and opening-up.