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“To resolutely control the population’s excessive growth is the key to solving multiple problems, such as traffic and environmental problems.” Beijing Mayor said on Sunday at a session of the Communist Party of China’s Beijing committee. Since 2000, Beijing’s permanent population has increased by an average of nearly 600,000 annually to reach 20.69 million at the end of 2012, far exceeding the previously planned target of keeping the population at 18 million by 2020. The population of Beijing is about 2.6 times that of London and 2.5 times that of New York. The metropolis faces traffic jams, strained resources, and environmental pollution.