Press briefing on household registration reform

Shenzhen TV:

My question is for the minister. You mentioned that China's implementation of the household registration reform is aimed at helping about 100 million people register in cities and towns. My question is, will the reform be carried out step by step and is there a special schedule for the reform? You also mentioned that the population in megacities should be strictly controlled, does that mean that it will be more difficult to settle in those megacities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen?

Huang Ming:

We aim to help about 100 million members of the rural and permanent population without an urban household registration to settle in towns and cities by 2020, which is the overall national expected target, not an assigned quota. The number of 100 million is just approximate. We will be practical in handling all matters and persevere in seeking truth from facts when carrying out the reform. I also want to highlight that the object of the reform is in keeping with China's real conditions. There are more than 200 million rural residents who have moved to cities in China, and the number has continued to grow. Cities will become more attractive due to the sustained and healthy development of urbanization. We believe that the target is realistic and feasible based on the assessment and calculation conducted by China's Ministry of Public Security and the National Bureau of Statistics.

As for your second question, generally speaking, we will strictly control the size of the population in megacities. But we will introduce measures according to the conditions in different cities as well as personal circumstances. We will make sure that our measures benefit the development of cities. Local governments should establish and improve a points system as well as open and transparent channels for the household registration system, this is already a specific requirement. Cities can introduce policies according to their specific circumstances. Thank you.

CRI:

In our understanding, the household registration system in many small and medium-sized cities has been open to migrants, but in fact it has not attracted many rural migrants to obtain resident status in such cities. What measures will be introduced in the future to help small and medium-sized cities attract more migrants?

Li Pumin:

Helping small and medium-sized cities become more attractive is important for both China's new type urbanization and the reform of the household registration system, because small and medium-sized cities are major destinations for migrant workers in China. According to statistics, more than 50 percent of the rural migrants flock to county-level and prefecture-level cities. Helping small and medium-sized cities become more attractive to migrants is very important in boosting China's new urbanization and drawing more migrants to settle there.

The following major measures will be taken:

First, we will improve public transportation in small and medium-sized cities, which is essential to the development in those regions only if public transportation has been improved can industries in those areas develop well and attract more migrants. According to the requirements of China's guidelines for developing a new type of urbanization, by 2020, standard railway networks will cover cities with a population of more than 200,000, and high-speed railway networks will cover almost all cities with a population of more than 500,000. The standard national road network should cover almost all counties and national highways should cover almost all cities with a population of more than 200,000.

Second, we will improve the industrial foundation in small and medium-sized cities. We should introduce more industrial projects and develop key industries, which can increase the number of job opportunities in these regions and make them more attractive.

Third, we will strengthen the construction of urban infrastructure and public service facilities in middle-sized and small cities. Middle-sized and small cities have great potential, which means we still need to do more to promote the construction of urban infrastructure and public service facilities. In foreign countries, a large number of renowned universities are located in middle-sized and small cities, but this is not common in China. Therefore, we have to strengthen the construction of infrastructure, education, health care and other public resources. We will encourage more universities and higher vocational education institutions to transfer to middle-sized and small cities, and help advanced health care institutions set up branches in small cities and counties. Meanwhile, middle-sized and small cities need to overcome some institutional and mechanism barriers to enhance their attractiveness. Thank you.