City Bound

　　China’s urbanization is always considered as a double-edged sword. While the number of permanenturban residents has increased to the point where theurbanization process is almost complete， residents withcity household registrations make up only a third of thetotal population. The percentage of permanent urbanresidents， 53.7 percent of the country’s nearly 1.4 billionpopulation by 2013， up from 17.9 percent in 1978， is insharp juxtaposition to only 36 percent of the populationholding city household registrations.

　　Standing in the gray zone are the world’s largestmigrant population - 269 million rural residents workingin cities. Owing to their living conditions， these peoplehave less access to public services than their urbancounterparts， since China adopted the hukou， a dualhousehold registration system between urban and ruralresidents. Even after living in cities for a year， non-urbanhukou holders can never fully integrate into city life. Socialtension from the inequality has increasingly plaguedthe country， which is something China is determined tochange.

　　The State Council， China’s cabinet， released a newurbanization plan on March 16， announcing assistance to100 million rural migrants in obtaining residency status incities over the next six years.

　　People first

　　The plan projects 60 percent of Chinese people living inurban areas by 2020， and increasing urban hukou holdersto 45 percent of the total population.

　　China sees an influx of 10 million rural residents intoits cities every year. They cannot become full fledged cityresidents， as even those born in the city face difficultiesin getting education due to the hukou barrier， whichresults in around 58 million rural children left athome by their migrating parents.

　　Li Wei from the Development Research Centerof State Council said that China’s urbanization hasbeen expanding too fast and that future attentionshould be paid to quality rather than speed.

　　In addition to an increase of 100 millionurban dwellers with city household registrations，the 2014-20 urbanization plan alsofocuses on expanding the coverage of basicpublic service to reach both urban and ruralhouseholds， including pensions， medicalinsurance and education.

　　Meanwhile， the plan includes programsfor improving the technical skills of migrant workersto get them into employment. By 2020， each migrantworker will enjoy technical training subsidized by thegovernment， with 10 million people trained each yearto upgrade the majority of migrant workers from juniorworkers to technical workers.

　　One of the basic principles for pushing forward urbanizationbefore 2020， the plan said， is putting peopleat the center and making sure that all people can enjoythe country’s modernization achievements.

　　Balanced development

　　To remove the restriction imposed on the migrant population，the reform of the household registration systemhas been carried out in a group of small cities in someprovinces， aiming at “gradual elimination” of the hukousystem. However， the Central Government is cautiouswhen it comes to the big cities.

　　Currently， over 85 percent of migrants are concentratedin Beijing， Shanghai， and some coastal provinces. Thethree city clusters， namely， the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebeiregion， the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl RiverDelta， are home to 18 percent of the country’s totalpopulation and create 36 percent of the nationalGDP on only 2.8 percent of the country’s land.

　　In the new plan， the government announced tofurther tighten control over newcomers to citieswith a population over 5 million， in order toease the pressure on traffic and the environment.

　　The new plan will focus on increasingsmall and mid-sized cities in central and westChina， where the urbanization rate is 13-17percentage points lower than the east.

　　To accommodate the increase ofmigrants， the government has promisedan increase in social housing and improvement inliving conditions of 100 million disadvantaged people.Meanwhile， railways will connect all cities with morethan 200，000 residents by 2020， and high-speed rail willconnect those with above 500，000 residents， accordingto the plan. About 90 percent of the population will haveaccess to a nearby airport.

　　Considerable government spending， at least 50trillion yuan ($8 trillion)， according to the China DevelopmentBank， will be necessary to realize the newurbanization plan. In securing capital for urbanization，the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said it will improve thecurrent system of local government bonds and exploremeans of local government bond issuance， as well as acooperative model of government and social capital.

　　To avoid local government debt risks， the MOF willfurther strengthen the management of local governmentfinancing companies， regulate local governmentborrowing， sort out the relationship between enterprisesand governments， correctly guide market expectations，and prevent and diffuse financial risks， said Vice Ministerof Finance Liu Kun at the March 19 press conference.

　　Correcting the past

　　The scale of China’s urban expansion is unprecedented.

　　From 1978 to 2013， the number of permanent urbanresidents rose from 170 million to 730 million and thenumber of cities grew from 193 to 658. The fast expansion，outstripping many developed countries， has beenthe fundamental drive of development of the world’ssecond largest economy. The increasing number of urbanresidents are also expected to spur the economy byboosting domestic consumption.

　　However， out of Pandora’s box sprang “urban disease.”

　　Most big cities were plagued with congestion andpollution and many local governments related urbanizationto housing construction， which migrants cannotafford.

　　One alarming story is Ordos City. Called a “ghost city”by mass media for its countless unoccupied houses，the city in north China’s Inner Mongolia AutonomousRegion is reported to be buckling under the weight ofan estimated debt of over 200 billion yuan ($32 billion)in 2013.

　　With a misunderstood concept of urbanization， thisapproach has resulted in countless unoccupied neighborhoodsand over-occupied cultivated land.

　　According to Xu Xianping， Vice Minister of the NationalDevelopment and Reform Commission， the drivetoward urbanization has now reached a crucial stage.

　　The former extensive expansion approach is no longerappropriate. “We must find a new way out，” he said at apress conference on March 19.

　　He added the new plan will improve water safety andair quality by targeting environmentally friendly growthbased on green production and green consumption.Scientific and rational urban development patterns willbecome the mainstream.

　　“China’s urban population has reached approximately700 million， and what kind of urbanization path Chinachooses will have a profound impact on the world，”said Li Tie， Director General of China Center for UrbanDevelopment.

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