BEIJING (REUTERS) - China must plan scientifically for "high-quality" urbanisation that is human-oriented and energy-saving, a senior official at the country's top economic planning agency said in remarks published on Thursday.

China's leaders have an ambitious plan to boost the urban population by 400 million over the next decade, a key plank in a reform effort to restructure the economy away from credit and export growth to one where consumers provide the main impetus.

Mr Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice head of the National Development and Reform Commission, also said China's urbanisation level, at about 52 percent of the population, still has a long way to catch up with that of developed economies and even some Asian countries.

"Our urbanisation should embody the concepts of green, intensive, intelligent and low-carbon and it does not mean simply building things or enclosing land," he said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in the north-eastern port city of Dalian that was posted on the NDRC's website.

His remarks echo those of Premier Li Keqiang, who told a recent meeting of experts on the subject that urbanisation should focus on quality of life and the environment and should be driven by job creation.

The NDRC has said it will unveil an urbanisation plan in the second half of this year.

Mr Zhang added that China has the necessary means to maintain a relatively high growth rate in the future, considering the domestic demand potential to be released from urbanisation.

He also reiterated that Beijing would speed up efforts to deepen reforms in energy prices, the financial sector and fiscal and tax systems to better allocate resources and narrow the wealth gap in the country.