The phenomenon of internal migration in China has accelerated since the postreform era as a result of unbalanced economic development. The government in China faces significant challenges on a large scale for the management of its internal migrants in megacities. Internal migration is controlled by the Hukou, which is a government household registration system that emerged from the planned economy approach in China. The Hukou distinguishes between rural and urban residents and allocates social security benefits and access to public services accordingly. Insufficient reforms to the Hukou coupled with the unfavourable treatment of migrants in major cities has deteriorated the living standards of the migrant population in China. Moreover, this ‘floating population’ poses new challenges to urbanisation and economic development in China such that national development policies need to target a more balanced urban growth strategy in response.
Introduction
Over 200 million people account for China’s internal migrant population, many of whom have migrated from rural to urban areas in hopes of a better livelihood. However, the robust but imbalanced economic growth in China has spurred internal migration on such a large scale that it is now creating challenges for the government to manage its migrant population. This paper will begin with the identification of the nature of economic development in China since the reform era and the consequential patterns of internal migration that emerged. Next, it will discuss the significance of the Hukou system to the management of internal migration in China. The primary functions of the Hukou will be identified and its political, social and economic implications in China will be discussed. Additionally, the paper will highlight the challenges of the social inclusion of migrants into megacities. The paper also attempts to understand the problems of internal migration in the larger context of urbanisation and economic development strategies. Finally, the paper will analyse the effectiveness of existing urbanisation and development plans in China in enhancing the inclusivity of migrants in major cities and identify limitations to the strategies which should be considered going forward.
Internal Migration and Economic Growth
Internal migration gained momentum in the 1980s in China, following the relaxation of policies on labour migration. The emergence of the market economy and urbanisation in post-reform China propelled migration from the rural areas of the heartland provinces to the coastal cities becoming major manufacturing hubs. The emergence of exportoriented sectors (Chan, 2001) created the demand for millions of low-skilled jobs. Undoubtedly, China’s attainment of the ‘Factory of the World’ (Krishna, 2021) status up to one point is primarily owed to its massive and readily available workforce comprising millions of migrant workers that work overtime for low salaries. The migrant workers have been the key reason behind the decision of sourcing from China by major MNCs. Despite all this, China’s internal migration system is such that its migrant workers lack a sense of belonging in their own country.
The Hukou System
The Hukou system is a primary element in China’s internal migration system. It was established in 1958 as a governmental household registration system that functioned as an internal passport mechanism (Chan, 2001). Every citizen is registered under the hukou system at birth. Their hukou would entitle them to the social security benefits at their native place based on their classification as either rural or urban citizens. The hukou was initially designed when internal migration was restricted and reserved for a selective labour force that was brought in for state-run programmes (Chan, 2001) in the 1960s and 1970s. It was created to prevent unnecessary movement of people from the rural parts of the country to the cities because the Chinese government felt strongly about keeping a large proportion of its population in rural areas and engaged in agricultural activities. This belief emerged from the planned economy approach wherein everyone has a designated position in the economy, so the welfare and investment programmes are designed accordingly. Moreover, the Chinese government deliberately placed restrictions on migration to megacities to prevent the emergence of slums due to the rapid growth in population, a problem that was evident in countries like India due to rapid urbanization (Boquen, 2021).
The hukou constitutes three major functions; the control of internal migration, the management of social protection and the preservation of social stability (Boquen, 2021). China’s industrialization strategy also affected the pattern of migration in its early years as heavy industry was prioritised. Industrial goods were overpriced while agricultural goods were underpriced (Boquen, 2021). The hukou also confined labour to either agriculture or industry. So if a rural farmer travels to the city, he would be devoid of access to education, employment, food services, access to education and other public services. This system led to discrepancies between the industrial and agricultural sections of China’s economy.
Socioeconomic Impact of the Hukou System
Over the years, unbalanced economic development in postreform China accelerated the internal migration process to megacities. The government faced challenges to systematically manage its internal migrant process. With limited modification to the hukou system, migrants faced socio-economic challenges to integrating into urban areas (Poncet & Zhu, 2003). Typically, those who wish to change their residence from rural to urban regions should obtain approval from the public security authorities, accompanied by the transfer of their Hukou (Chan, 2001)to the destination. This would grant them legal residency rights (Chan, 2001) and access to urban employment and social security benefits. However, the transfer process of the hukou is rigid and subject to conditions, leading to a vast majority of the migrant workers becoming non-hukou residents in urban areas of China. The conversion of a rural Hukou to an urban one is complicated further by strict conversion quotas and unfavourable government regulations. Rural migrants are required to give up their farming land and housing land while obtaining an urban Hukou (Chen & Fan, 2016). It is argued that such sacrifice is too high a price to pay for the rural population to convert their Hukou as they would have to forego the social security benefits of the rural hukou. Moreover, rising values of agricultural land discourage rural hukou holders to give up their agricultural hukou status (Boquen, 2021). This system led to the emergence of the ‘floating population’ (Chan, 2001) wherein the working-age population would migrate from rural areas to large cities while the dependent population would be left behind in rural areas. Although restrictions over migration were eased after 1984, the problems of discrimination against rural migrants in cities became more apparent. The non-hukou migrants in cities like Beijing and Shanghai are deprived of legal protection and essential services like healthcare and education. They are mainly subject to discrimination (Sheehan, 2017) and unfair working conditions due to their low socioeconomic status. The hukou system results in a non-portability of social security benefits, including insurance and pensions for migrant workers. The migrants work in low-paid jobs with no labour contracts and unsafe working conditions. A vast majority of inhabitants in cities lack full social protections. The hukou system has created barriers for migrant workers hoping to settle permanently in cities. Moreover, the inability to access public social protection for migrants poses challenges for China’s transition to an economy of consumption.
Nonetheless, a whole generation of migrant workers moving to urban areas for work has left behind their children in the rural areas. Perhaps the greatest effects of this internal migration system are borne by the children of migrant workers who are only entitled to benefits in rural areas under the hukou system.
Separated from their parents, these children are raised by distant relatives in rural areas without emotional support and guidance, offsetting long term effects on their educational performance and development. The consequential separation of families between rural and urban areas under the hukou system discourages births and enhances the burden of childbearing. The sociological effects of the hukou system are causing demographic shifts (Mcgregor, 2021) in its population as data from China’s 2020 Census indicates a falling birth rate and a rise in the ageing population, which could be a barrier to realising China's economic potential in the long term.
The Dilemma and Solutions
While several rounds of reforms to the hukou system have occurred since its enforcement, the need to prioritise the livelihood of its poor migrant workers whilst pursuing its urbanisation strategies remains a challenge. Despite criticism that the hukou system is responsible for worsening the social divide between the rural and urban populations, it cannot be abolished entirely because the hukou entails the entitlement to benefits for those in rural areas. So China’s strategy of incremental loosening of the hukou restriction is the right step in the short run. Moreover, the scale of migration to megacities in China is incomparable to any other city in the world in terms of internal migration. This magnifies the challenges of increased pressure on resources such as land and infrastructure in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, as a result of rapid urban population growth.
The New Urbanisation Plan of 2014 and the National Central Cities strategy constitute a set of national policies to reduce the migration to megacities and ensure a more balanced urban growth in this manner. The Chinese government devised a New Urbanisation Plan in 2014 to address these challenges and incorporated reforms to the hukou to ensure the provision of a minimum standard of public service to all residents (Smith, 2014). The plan also aimed to eliminate barriers to labour mobility from rural to urban areas and to help increase worker wages. The primary step has been to provide the legal resident status to migrant workers in urban areas (Tiezzi, 2013). Next, enabling social security and benefits to these migrant workers will raise their productivity.
Extending the benefits to their children will also generate the necessary educated and skilled population in the long run. Overall, this would enhance their standard of living which would ultimately increase their consumption activity (Tiezzi, 2013). Though efforts have been made to achieve this, the integration of the migrant population in major cities is yet to be realised. Although the Chinese government has eased hukou restrictions in small and medium cities through decentralised management of urbanisation, it has maintained strict restrictions on Hukou in megacities like Beijing and Shanghai due to the challenges of overcrowding and rising housing prices (Tiezzi, 2013). The rapid economic growth has aggravated China’s vulnerability to climate change and natural resource depletion. Hence, long term strategies should aim to reduce the pressure on resources and infrastructure in megacities. In recent years, the National Central Cities strategy (Zongwei, 2018) has emerged to focus on regional economic development and create a more balanced urban network. This strategy aims to develop the smaller cities and strengthen connectivity to other parts of the country through various transport infrastructures. The expansion of the national central cities will depend on the relocation of production bases and other industrial activities from the megacities to smaller developing cities in southern and heartland parts of China in the years ahead.
Therefore, a balanced urban growth strategy along with reforms to the hukou are prerequisites for ensuring the welfare of China’s migrant population. In spite of this, barriers of inadequate funding for the provision of public services (Sheehan, 2017) also pose challenges to adopting an inclusive and sustainable urbanisation strategy for China.
Conclusion
In China’s internal migration crisis is immense in social, economic and political aspects. While the hukou system is losing its relevance in urban China, its importance prevails for the rural population, which is too large to neglect. The Chinese government has realised that any reforms to its internal migration strategy cannot be pursued in isolation as it is tied to its economic development and urbanisation strategies. Effective management of internal migrants goes beyond modifications to the Hukou and requires a sense of urgency to be realised by the state government. The provision of legal resident status and access to essential public services for migrants should be the first step towards enhancing their inclusivity. National policies should also focus on the livelihood and well-being of existing migrants in the short run. China has the ability to replicate its growth and development strategies in smaller cities and this should be combined with the development of adequate transport infrastructure for connectivity, in the long run, thereby reducing the pressure on China’s megacities. Finally, China should prioritise the funding for the provision of public services to the migrant population in its fiscal policies at the central level.
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