China to further help rural migrant workers settle down in cities

BEIJING -- China plans to support more rural migrant workers in settling down in urban areas, unleashing fresh momentum for promoting high-quality development.

Within five years, the country will lift the urbanization rate of permanent residents to nearly 70 percent, according to the five-year plan on people-centered new-type urbanization unveiled Wednesday by the State Council, China's cabinet.

China's urbanization rate of permanent residents stood at 66.16 percent by the end of 2023, a marked rise from 53.1 percent by the end of 2012.

The plan prioritizes working faster to grant permanent urban residency to eligible people who move from rural to urban areas.

According to the plan, a raft of measures will be rolled out to achieve this, including reforming the household registration system and making it easier for urban residents to access local public services.

Official data showed that there are about 170 million rural migrant workers and family members living with them that have not yet obtained urban household registration.