Caixin reported (April 8) that China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) had instructed local governments to lift household registration restrictions for people who live and work in some second- and third-tier cities in an effort to advance reform of the residency system for migrants. It said China is going to eliminate all restrictions for household registration, or “hukou,” for all cities with an urban population of 1 million to 3 million. The NDRC also said governments of cities with an urban population of 3 million to 5 million should also ease restrictions for farmers-turned-workers who have lived there for more than five years, as well as technicians, college and vocational school graduates and people who have obtained overseas degrees. Based on their urban populations in 2016, cities such as Wuxi and Ningbo in eastern China would qualify for the relaxed residency rules.

 

(Comment: This move has been under consideration for some years and gained momentum in the past two years. It is a major step. It follows a recent government report which called for serious reform of the hukuo system for migrants. It found that less than 4% of migrants in the 50 cities — including Qingdao, Xiamen, Wuxi, Chengdu and Changsha — were able to obtain permanent residency in their adopted city.)