HONG KONG - China should choose a low-carbon way in pursuit of urbanization, said an expert at a climate change conference in Hong Kong on Thursday.

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China's urban population is set to grow in the future, which will lead to expansion in construction of urban infrastructure, transportation and buildings, said Zou Ji, China director of the World Resources Institute.

However, the country should avoid the high-carbon approach taken by the US, and even the more moderate approach of Europe and Japan, as the global carbon budget cannot support even a European or Japanese level of emissions for every Chinese citizen due to its large population, according to Zou.

To that end, China should find "a third carbon pathway," which can offer high quality life to its people, but at much lower emissions per capita, Zou said.

The low-carbon approach and green pathway would also solve employment problems for farmers giving up their land, and raise productivity in the agricultural sector, which is crucial in the face of shrinking farmland during the urbanization process, Zou said.