China's urbanisation will continue on an unprecedented scale and pace, to the point where 1 billion people will be living in mainland cities by 2030, according to research by the McKinsey Global Institute.
That means in 20 years Chinese cities will have to provide jobs, housing, food, medical insurance and pension funds for 350 million more people - more than the present population of the United States.
Meanwhile, about 5 billion square metres of roads will have to be paved, 170 mass-transit systems built and 50,000 new skyscrapers - equivalent to 10 New York cities - will appear on the mainland.
Urbanisation at such speed and volume would put huge pressure on the leadership, the report said.
That pressure would include securing enough public funding for social services, dealing with demand and supply for land, energy and water, and protecting the environment. The pressure would intensify despite strong economic growth.
Smaller cities would bear the biggest brunt because they will face insurmountable hurdles in land development, job creation and skilled labour, financing and energy supply.
