Press briefing on household registration reform

China Daily:

My question goes to Minister Huang. What is the ultimate goal for the household registration system reform? What will be the features during the reform process? Thanks.

Huang Ming:

You just asked about the development goal and the special characteristics of the household registration system reform. The overarching goal for this reform is to settle 100 million migrants and other permanent residents without urban household registrations in towns and cities. We will allow migrants and other permanent residents who do not have a local household registration, to gradually gain access to basic local public services. This is a very important goal.

Meanwhile, we have another goal for household registration reform: we will basically establish a new human-oriented, scientific, efficient, normative and orderly household registration system which lives up to the task of building a moderately prosperous society, effectively supports social management and public services, and protects citizens' rights and interests according to the law. It will include the following aspects: we are going to unify the urban and rural household registration systems by pushing forward household registration system reform, fully implement the residence permit system, basically establish a relocated household registration system based on a person's lawful and stable residence as well as one's lawful and stable employment, and the basic form of registering one's regular residence location. A national database of population information will be built and the information will be integrated and shared across departments and areas. These are our two major goals.

There will be three salient features of the household registration system reform. First, this hukou policy is a holistic adjustment. Compared with the current reform, past reforms were generally partial, piecemeal or adjustments in articles, or adjustments for a certain aspect. This time, after the central government made full-scale plan for new urbanization construction, they decided to implement the differentiated household settlement policies in China, which will feature a rational layout for big, medium and small cities and small towns. It will play an extremely important role in reasonably guiding and arranging population allocation. This is one feature.

Second, it will be a comprehensive coordinated reform according to the central government's general plans for comprehensively deepening reform, which means household registration system reform is not only a single reform, but also a coordinated reform of other relevant departments.

Third, it will be a holistic construction of a new type of household registration system. The household registration system reform is not just about an adjustment of household settlement policies, it is also about building a unified household registration system for both the urban and rural population, as well as fully implementing the residence permit system, improving the management system of population information among others.

There has never been housing registration reform like this before, with such great determination, such efforts, covering so many aspects, with such solid measures.

Thank you.