A development plan for the country's medium and long-term urbanization will be launched in the second half of the year, an official with the country's top planning agency said on Thursday.
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The main content of the plan will be a detailed layout of Premier Li Keqiang's concept of "new-type urbanization", focusing on giving the nation's 250 million migrant workers more recognition as urban residents, said Li Tie, director-general of the China Center for Urban Development at the National Development and Reform Commission.
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According to Li Tie, the plan consists of four parts, with the first being "to orderly promote a sustainable urbanization process, which will focus on building smart, ecological and low-carbon cities".
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The second part of the plan is about how to speed up the reform of the half-century-old hukou household registration system.
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"This also has two sub-plans. First, we will implement an open-door hukou system for eligible migrant workers, particularly for those living in small and medium-sized cities.
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"Second, we will improve the residence permit system to enable migrant workers to enjoy basic public services as urban residents."
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The third part of the plan includes a guideline for the reasonable development of cities of different sizes.
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While giving more development opportunities to small and medium-sized cities, the guideline will encourage the gathering of capital, labor and technology in large cities.
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The development plan will establish a basic framework for urbanization policies, within which there will be administrative, land and financing reforms.
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"The over-expansion of some Chinese cities has resulted in a severe waste of resources, and we will head toward a high-energy and resource-consuming mode if we follow the old path," Li Tie said.
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He added that urbanization will aim at lowering urban density, enhancing conservation, and increasing foreign and private investment.