China to build 50,000 skyscrapers in 20 years

China will build between 20,000 and 50,000 skyscrapers in the next 20 years, on top of huge spending on infrastruture, according to a report by McKinsey.

The figures came to light as mining firm Rio Tinto dismissed talk of a collapse in the commodities market, and pointed to McKinsey's research, which predicts the continued march of urbanisation in the developing world.

The report predicts that China will have 221 cities with more than a million inhabitants by 2025, compared with just 35 in Europe today.

McKinsey also predicted that many of the skyscrapers it expects to be built would be found in less developed interior provinces of China, away from Beijing and Shanghai.