China pushes for urbanization drive
Print Edition
China yesterday pledged proactive yet steady moves in pushing forward human-centered urbanization as it looks to balance urban-rural development and unleash domestic demand.
Urbanization is the road China must take in its modernization drive, and it offers an important way to address rural problems, according to a statement released after a central urbanization work conference.
The two-day meeting, which ended on Friday, was attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and other senior leaders, making it the most high-level meeting the Chinese leadership has ever convened on urbanization.
The conference came as China’s rigid “hukou” (household registration) system has prevented migrants from gaining equal access to services in cities, posing a major barrier holding back the country’s urbanization process.
By the end of 2012, China has 710 million urban residents. For the first time in China’s history, its urban population exceeded rural population, with city-dwellers accounting for 51.27 percent of the population.
Caught between the urban and rural residents are an army of 260 million migrant workers who live in cities but do not have access to the same public services as other urbanites who hold a city hukou.
In China, hukou is tied to place of residence and allows access to basic welfare and public services.
While promising to focus on the quality of urbanization and improve the living standards of urban residents, the statement said the primary task is to enable migrant workers to win urbanite status in an orderly manner.
It promised that endeavors will be exerted to gradually allow migrant workers to become more integrated in cities, remove hukou restrictions in towns and small cities, gradually ease restrictions in mid-sized cities, setting reasonable conditions for settling in big cities while strictly controlling the population in megacities.
Cities should develop their industries based on their resource advantages and enhance cooperation in professional services, especially the service sector, to consolidate industrial development and encourage innovations. Measures and policies to enable migrant workers to win urban status should be carried out in line with farmers’ willingness.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
