Introduction

Foreign direct investment and the export orientation of China’s economy, a building boom and the revival of the service sector – all these were factors that led to the creation of a great many new jobs in the large conurbations along the east coast of China. These became favored destinations for rural migrant workers, who were looking for alternative sources of income in the face of meager earnings from agriculture. The policy brief provides an overview of central aspects of rural-urban migration in China. The central question is whether and to what extent it offers an opportunity for the poorer rural population of China. In answer to this question we propose, after a brief introduction to the concept of Chinese internal migration, to begin by discussing the various functions of the hukou system (registered residency status), which is the institutional foundation of Chinese rural-urban migration. We shall follow this up by describing the characteristics of Chinese internal migration, including specific patterns of migration, areas of employment, regional and gender-specific features and the differences between succeeding generations of migrants. On this basis we shall investigate how Chinese migration and urbanization policy has changed in the light of economic and political priorities since the start of the Chinese policy of reform, and what effects this policy is having on the working and living conditions of rural migrant workers in the cities. In considering future trends, we argue, finally, that although the central government has strategies to achieve a migration-based urbanization that allows for the development of a broadly based middle class, there are numerous obstacles in the path of such development, notably the economically motivated interests of the cities at local level and the significant costs that increased migration is expected to entail.

This text is part of the policy brief on Interner Link: "Internal Migration in China – Opportunity or Trap?".