Chinese Rural-to-Urban Migration: When countries become more industrialized, the population in rural areas tends to move to cities. China also saw this happen after making changes to its economy. People moved from rural areas to cities, causing the population in cities to increase a lot. This differed from before when the cities didn’t grow much, even though China was trying to become more industrialized. China’s immense size and unique way of developing make it very interesting to study how its cities grow and how people move from rural to urban areas.
We have mentioned in detail about Chinese rural-to-urban migration below.
Meaning of Rural and Urban Sector
Many people are moving from rural to urban areas in China, helping cities grow. They’re doing jobs like construction and sales, and this movement also balances the number of workers in rural and urban areas. Before understanding the causes and benefits of migration from the rural to the urban sector, let’s first understand China’s rural and urban sectors.
Rural Sector in China
Rural life in China differs from urban life in China, and 45% of the population of China is rural. In some parts of southern and coastal China, rural areas are becoming more developed and are almost like cities in their economy. However, rural life is still considered basic and not very advanced in the northwest and western regions. People in these areas often struggle with clean water and easy transportation.
Urban Sector in China
In China, a place’s urban status depends on a few things. First, if people there have specific jobs, like working in offices or factories, it’s more likely to be called urban. Second, if there are many specialized places, like schools, hospitals, and stores, it’s also seen as urban. Lastly, in urban areas, people aren’t usually treated on a personal level, like in small towns or villages where everyone knows each other. So, if you see a city with a big market in China, it’s more likely to be urban than a rural area. And when you think of big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, they have the most specialized jobs and places, making them very urban.
Must Check
Territorial Urbanization and Rural Urbanization
It is a process where the government changes the boundaries and divisions of areas for the growth and development of urban development. This helps achieve national economic goals. For instance, the government can create new economic hubs by giving more power to specific regions, like Shanghai’s Pudong area. These changes also let the government control resources and make political decisions.
Turning rural areas into towns and villages has recently become essential to China’s plan to make more people live in cities. The government has set goals for how many people should live in the towns by specific years. The government is also focusing on concentrating land and people in rural areas, and they’re making new towns and communities for people who move there. This process, called territorial urbanization, gives local leaders more power and money to make decisions and improve roads and schools.
Rural urbanization in China happened because farming became less collective and more individual, which created more workers. People started businesses with the money they made from farming. These changes led to the growth of small towns with modern facilities. Some experts call this “urbanization from below” because it happened without much government control. China’s government also allowed towns to expand their borders to include nearby villages, which helped them get more money from taxes. This made more towns and gave them more power compared to rural areas.
Organization of China’s Townships
Townships in China include administrative units below the provincial levels divided into streets or subdistricts, towns, and rural townships. Let’s see how the township is organized in China in much detail:
- Over the past two decades, there have been significant changes in the numbers and types of these township-level units. The number of rural townships decreased while the number of streets increased, and the number of towns remained relatively stable.
- In 2018, the Urbanization and Quality of Life Survey was conducted in 32 townships undergoing territorial urbanization and 8 potential urbanization sites.
- Four organization methods defined in administrative restructuring were identified.
- Reclassification of townships as streets.
- Reclassification of rural townships as towns.
- Incorporation of townships into urban districts
- Townships into development zones.
The first two pathways involve changes at the township level, while the latter two involve changes at the administrative level above the township.
Causes and Implications Of Rural-Urban Mobility in China
In China, many people move from rural areas to big cities, mostly because they want to, not because they’re forced to do it. The government used to control where people could live, but now they don’t do it as much, so more people are choosing to move to cities.
It’s also balancing the number of workers between rural and urban areas. The good thing is that many migrants don’t have to leave their home villages forever; they can return if they want. But this movement is also causing problems, such as more competition for jobs in cities now, especially because some city residents have lost their jobs due to changes in how state-owned companies are run. Also, some rules still make it harder for rural migrants to get jobs than those living in the cities.
Lots of young adults leave their rural homes to work in cities where they can earn more money. They usually plan to return home after saving up enough, but many end up liking city life and deciding to stay.
Men and women have their own work choices in the big cities, like places with lots of construction or heavy industry, where more men move. More women go to areas with many factories making clothes and other things.
Problems Due to Rural-to-Urban Migration
Rural-to-urban migration has given rise to various problems citizens face in rural and urban areas.
- The main concern has been raised about the rights of rural immigrants in China’s urbanization process, such as access to services and welfare.
- Rapid urbanization has led to environmental degradation, facing challenges for sustainable development.
- Issues related to urban housing, such as affordability and availability, have become a major issue amidst urbanization.
- The differences between urban and rural people have widened, raising questions about equitable development.
- Overdevelopment and loss of farmland have raised concerns about food security and sustainable land use.
- Urbanization has increased energy consumption, necessitating energy conservation and efficiency measures.
New Urbanization Strategy in China
In March 2014, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council formed a landmark initiative known as the “National New-type Urbanization Plan (2014–2020).” This plan marks a significant shift in China’s approach to urban development, recognizing the need for a fresh strategy to address the widening differences between urban and rural regions. It identifies challenges that have emerged over the past decades, making the government introduce a holistic roadmap for fostering sustainable urbanization across the country.
Economic Impact of Rural to Urban Migration in China
China has grown at about 10% per year for over 30 years. It used to be a poor country, but now it’s the second biggest economy, the largest trading nation, and gets the most foreign investment globally. Economists think China will keep growing and become the top economy in the next ten years, surpassing the USA. The primary reason behind the country’s economic growth is rural-to-urban migration.
In the 1980s, China saw the rise of township and village-owned enterprises (TVEs) as part of its economic reforms. Instead of quickly changing prices and privatizing state-owned businesses, China gradually focused on labor-intensive work. It grew rapidly because they got access to raw materials that state-owned enterprises didn’t use. They grew faster and were more productive than state-owned businesses. As a result, by 1991, non-state businesses were producing almost half of China’s industrial output, while state-owned companies produced less. TVEs peaked in the mid-1990s, employing millions of people and contributing a significant portion to China’s GDP.
For about 20 years, China had plenty of extra workers, but in the mid-2000s, it started to have fewer workers available. Since 2004, the pay for unskilled workers has increased significantly, suggesting that China might not have as many extra workers anymore. This means that the time spent on having many extra workers might end. With higher wages for unskilled workers, people in rural areas, especially migrant workers, started making more money. In recent years, rural incomes have grown faster than urban incomes after being behind for a long time.
Turning Rural Immigrants Into Citizens And Protecting Rural Land.
The primary goal of the new urbanization strategy in China is to change the status of rural immigrants from temporary city residents to full-fledged urban citizens. This process is often referred to as granting citizenship to rural immigrants. However, becoming an urban citizen involves changing rural household registration (hukou). It also requires ensuring they have equal access to urban benefits and services, which requires significant investment from local governments, especially in larger cities.
Policies, Responses, and Solutions to Rural to Urban Migration
Since the 2000s, the Chinese central government has implemented several policies to support the migration of rural laborers to urban areas. The various policies include the following:
- Skills Training Program: This initiative focuses on improving the skills of migrant workers to increase their employability and productivity in urban jobs.
- Managing Wage Payment to Migrant Workers: This policy ensures employers pay wages to migrant workers fairly and on time, addressing wage exploitation and non-payment issues.
- Work-Related Injury Insurance: This policy aims to provide migrant workers with insurance coverage for work-related injuries, offering them financial protection in case of accidents or health issues.
- The New Rural Medical Cooperative Scheme (Health Insurance): This scheme covers the health insurance of migrant workers, helping them to access affordable healthcare services in urban areas.
Even with these policies, not all migrant workers can use them well. Many have trouble getting the most out of these resources. It’s essential to see how they deal with problems during their move, even with these policies.
Conclusion
In China, rural areas are becoming more urbanized, not just because people are moving to cities. It is also because China is making rural areas more like cities. Different ways of becoming urbanized lead to different outcomes. Some areas become streets or part of development zones, where people have better jobs but own less land. Others become part of urban districts, where people are better integrated into city services. Overall, becoming urban isn’t the same for everyone, and it can have different effects on people’s lives.
People Also View
Chinese Rural-to-Urban Migration – FAQs
What is the major motivation behind youngsters immigrating from rural areas in China?
The major reason is that the money they make in big cities is the primary motivation behind immigration.
How much of the Chinese population is rural?
Since 2012, less than half of the population has been living in rural areas, but the survey found that in 2022, the population decreased to 34.78 per cent of the entire population.
What is the most rural part of China?
Henan is the top region in China, with most of the population being rural.
Which country has the largest rural population in the world?
India is the country with the largest rural population in the world.
How many Chinese people live outside China?
10.7 million people live outside China, scattered in different parts of the world.
Share your thoughts in the comments
Please Login to comment...