Speed up hukou process, govt says

The nation's top planning authority said on Tuesday that all provinces and municipalities should issue plans to help migrants from rural areas acquire urban residential status by the end of this year.

As of the end of last year, 27 local governments at provincial and municipal levels had issued plans to speed up the change, while some retained an eligibility threshold too high for migrants to attain, according to Xu Lin, head of the Department of Development Planning under the National Development and Reform Commission.

"Allowing more migrants to acquire urban status and help improve their living standards are among core targets for achieving the urbanization goal by the end of 13th Five-Year Plan," Xu said, referring to the 2016-20 plan period.