Urbanize migrant workers, counties with government investment

Government funding should be used mainly to boost economic development at county-level areas and promote social integration across urban and rural areas, says an editorial in the 21st Century Business Herald. Excerpts:

The government must be vigilant about various social risks that arise out of any structural changes its investment may inspire.

The urbanization rate of some developing countries is higher than it is in China. The poor rural population moves to live and work in the cities. But these people do not have the same citizen welfare benefits, and their living conditions are much lower than their city counterparts. To some extent, such fake urbanization only moves villages into cities, causing serious social problems.

China faces similar challenges. There are 253 million migrant workers now working and living in Chinese cities without citizen identities.

China has a middle-class population of more than 300 million. If the Chinese government does not urbanize its migrant population and invests only in infrastructure construction, the polarization of Chinese society will be inevitable.

The county-level areas, such as counties, districts and towns, are the important areas that need the government's favorable policies to give the migrant population an interim area to live before entering the city. It also will give Chinese urbanization more time to turn to quality growth, which features not only the development of large cities, but also the development of counties and towns.