100m migrants on way to cities
Print Edition
CHINA will ensure the “orderly” migration of about 100 million rural workers into cities by 2020, supported by expanded social welfare and more job opportunities, the government said yesterday, as part of plans to push its urbanization program.
Authorities have pledged to loosen their grip on residence registration, or hukou, which stops migrant workers and their families from getting access to education and social welfare outside their hometowns.
The government aims for 60 percent of the population of almost 1.4 billion to be living in cities by 2020, turning millions of rural dwellers into consumers who could be a driving force for the world’s second-largest economy.
The government will ensure “an orderly transfer of the rural population into urban areas,” according to a detailed guidance on the reform. It will also “strive to achieve the transfer of about 100 million agricultural population and other resident population into cities and towns” by 2020, it said.
Local governments will set differentiated household registration policies based on their ability to absorb migrants and provide public services, the guidance said.
Migrants can settle in small cities freely as the hukou restrictions will be abolished, but curbs in medium-sized cities will be loosened “in an orderly way,” it said.
The number of migrants moving to cities of 3-5 million people will be “appropriately” controlled, while movements into mega cities with more than 5 million people will be “strictly” controlled.
Policies will favor rural migrants who have worked in cities for a long time and skilled workers.
The government will expand the coverage of pensions, medical care for migrant workers entering cities and ensure equal access to education for their children, it said.
It will also coordinate the development of urbanization and industrialization, signaling concerns about the lack of jobs that could hamper the migration process.
Meanwhile, a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, said yesterday that improving services for migrant workers will help nurture a high quality workforce, expand consumption and allow them to enjoy the fruits of the country’s growth. To that end, the government will provide better services for migrant workers moving in cities.
It will also promote social equity and contribute to sustainable and healthy economic growth, it said in a statement.
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