China to settle 100 mln migrants in cities by 2020

China will help 100 million migrants settle in cities to expand urbanization, the country’s cabinet announced on October 11.

The government plans to annually help over 13 million migrants seek urban hukou (household registration) that will qualify them for social benefits such as health care, over the next five years. The plans are part of an attempt to lift the percentage of people living in cities and having the relevant hukou to 45 percent by 2020, according to a statement released by the State Council.

The percentage of people living in cities and having local hukou, stood at 39.9 percent at the end of 2015. The percentage of the entire population living in cities was 56.1 percent, as many migrants live in cities without the relevant local hukou.

China plans to relax household registration requirements, in most cities, for students from rural areas and migrant workers who have lived in a city for a long time, while megalopolises, such as Beijing, will implement specific policies to control rapid population growth.

Additional fiscal, financial and land use policies will be rolled out to ensure migrant residents with local hukou enjoy equal social benefits such as health care and education, the statement added. (People’s Daily)