300 million residents expected to urbanize by 2020

About 300 million rural residents of China will become city dwellers by 2020, raising China's urbanization rate to 60 percent, a report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said on Tuesday.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's urbanization rate is now 52.6 percent. The report said that is an overestimate and the actual rate is 42.2 percent.

By 2030, 390 million rural dwellers are expected to move to cities, with the urbanization rate reaching 68 percent, according to the report.

The report estimated the average cost for each rural resident to move will be 131,000 yuan ($21,370), of which 26,000 yuan should be invested by the government.

CASS estimated the government will have to spend 650 billion yuan every year on helping rural residents move, and the task could basically be finished by 2025. The cost is bearable for government, according to the report.