Although the issue of urbanization was not discussed at the economic work conference, it has been a hot topic nationwide recently. With more than 200 million people expected to move into the country’s cities over the coming decades, reforms to better manage the issue are desperately needed. What does urbanization exactly entail, and how is China tackling the challenges?
Urbanization refers to the rapidly rising population living in cities. It’s a process that either arises from new cities mushrooming across the country, or migrant workers abandoning their homes and farmlands and moving to urban areas.
Although urbanization tends to improve the average living standard, one of the major negative impacts is the excessive exploitation of rural land once farmers move away. Further, the people moving to the cities are greeted by numerous unexpected difficulties, such as the hukou system, and getting entitled to social services like pension, healthcare and schooling.
Balancing the two sides of the urbanization coin has become crucial. Instead of blindly expanding urban areas, integration, helping the newcomers settle down, and turning the cities into more attractive dwelling areas is becoming a top priority.
Last year, at China’s 18th National Congress of the Communist Party, policymakers unveiled new plans to push forward more adequate urbanization reforms for China. The recent 3rd plenary session called for new urbanization strategies to guarantee equal access to social security, education and housing for the new city dwellers.