Long-term urbanization plan due this year

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.

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.

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".

The second part of the plan is about how to speed up the reform of the half-century-old hukou household registration system.

"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.

"Second, we will improve the residence permit system to enable migrant workers to enjoy basic public services as urban residents."

The third part of the plan includes a guideline for the reasonable development of cities of different sizes.

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.

The development plan will establish a basic framework for urbanization policies, within which there will be administrative, land and financing reforms.

"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.

He added that urbanization will aim at lowering urban density, enhancing conservation, and increasing foreign and private investment.