City cluster plans will accelerate elimination of hukou restrictions

ON FEB 21, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the Guiding Opinions on Cultivating the Development of a Modern Metropolis, which clearly states that it would remove all the restrictions on applicants for an urban hukou, or household registration, except for some megacities. China Daily reporter Li Yang comments:

The focus of the guiding stipulations is to speed up the elimination of the household registration barrier between urban and rural areas and promote the urbanization of migrant workers within the 13 city clusters nationwide that have been earmarked for a bigger role in boosting economic growth and innovation.

Accordingly, the supply of medical care, pension, education and other welfare related to hukou will be increased to meet the demands of newcomers.