Urbanization and the Chinese Dream

Urbanization is an important part of the Chinese dream, a concept touted by the new leadership. Among the priorities of urbanization is turning migrant workers into urban citizens, which requires a fundamental change to the hukou system.

It's nothing small. In 2012, the migrant population in the country's urban areas was about 230 million. Rough projections show that by 2030, the floating population, made up mostly of migrant workers from the countryside, will reach more than 300 million. To change the household registrations of these 300 million people over 15 years will require resolving the household registration issues of about 20 million people per year.