1st LD Writethru: Beijing caps population at 21.77 million this year

Beijing will cap its population at 21.77 million by the end of this year, part of an effort to cure "urban ills."

During a meeting about the city's economic situation, mayor Wang Anshun said the city government will ease urban ills in such areas as population, traffic congestion, and pollution.

The population of Beijing reached 21.5 million by the end of 2014. The large population has put pressure on the water supply, air quality, traffic and biodiversity.

According to a guideline on coordinated development for Beijing, Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province, approved by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in April, Beijing must cap its population at 23 million by 2020.

During the meeting, the government also decided to start construction of six new subway lines and increase the operating length of the metro system by 27 kilometers this year.

Over the weekend, Beijing announced that it would move some of its administration out of the city center by building a new municipal subsidiary administrative center in the eastern suburbs. Endi