BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Urbanization has been reducing the number of Chinese farmers and the trend is set to continue as China moves to build a "new socialist countryside," a senior economic official said on Wednesday.

    Chen Xiwen, deputy director of the Office of the Central Financial Work Leading Group, said that although permanent residence registrations show that China's rural population stands at 940 million, the total of actual rural dwellers is just 750 million as about 200 million people have migrated to work in cities and towns.

    "The trend will continue in the future," said Chen.

    The development of a "new socialist countryside" is a sweeping campaign largely aimed at improving the living conditions of farmers, who were left behind amid the initial opening-up and reform drive.

    Chen also pointed out that not all farmers desire to live in big cities due to limited urban infrastructure and lack of job opportunities. The Chinese government encourages farmers to work in adjacent towns and small cities and other non-agricultural sectors.

    Chen acknowledged China's rural population would remain large even when urbanization accelerates.

    Rural dwellers will still be 600 million even if only 40 percent of the Chinese people live in the countryside in 2030, when the total population is expected to rise to 1.5 billion.

    "To increase the living standard of these farmers, China should spare no efforts to build the new socialist countryside," Chen said. Enditem