The main cause for the widening gap is the low price of agricultural products.

Eric Maskin, professor at US-based Princeton University and the Nobel laureate in economics in 2007, said that the huge income gap between urban and rural residents is a side effect of China's economic miracle.

"Thanks to globalization, the Chinese economy has grown enormously over the last 30 years. However, one unfortunate side effect has been a substantial increase in income inequality," he said.

Li Yang, vice-president of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the issue of imbalanced income levels between urban and rural areas needs policymakers' extra attention.

"The most important task right now is to adjust the mode of income distribution, and to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor," he said.

James Adams, vice-president of World Bank, said that urban and rural areas have to work together instead of fighting for limited resources.

"The urban-rural relationship is interdependent, which means we have to find the best solution for them to develop together," he said.

The forum, which ended Friday, attracted more than 600 participants, including field experts and government officials from across the world.

Other discussions focused on issues connected to the path of economic transformation and sustainable development, what rural areas received during the economic development of cities and how to realize collaborative development between urban and rural areas.

Related topics such as population mobility and social integration and how small villages survive in a global context were also discussed.

(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2010)