Beijing will continue enhancing population service and management, but the city at present hasn't met conditions to open up household registration system, or Hukou system, a spokesman with the city's economic planner said on Monday.
China's Hukou system, which creates a distinction between urban and rural citizens, continues to determine a significant portion of eligibilities and benefits relating to employment, public services and political rights, the Beijing Morning Post reports.
In recent years, Beijing's permanent population has increased by 500,000 every year due to the historical background of China's low urbanization rate as well as the floating of surplus laborers to cities, Zhao Lei, deputy director of the municipal National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said during a news conference about the 12th Five-Year Plan.
Zhao admitted that as an economically developed city, Beijing has more employment opportunities and higher incomes, so it's an inevitability of history that more laborers flood to Beijing.
"Beijing will keep strengthening the population service and management, but it still hasn't met the conditions to open up the Hukou policy." Zhao said.
As the economic development becomes increasingly balanced among different regions, the problems of the Hukou will gradually make no sense. Beijingers mentioned in the city's 12th Five-Year Plan referred to broad meaning of Beijingers, rather than urban citizens with a Beijing Hukou, Zhao noted.
Zhao also denied early reports that Beijing will guide employees of low-end industries to transfer step-by-step outside of the city.
"We have never considered driving employees of low-end industries out of the city. This belongs to the adjustment of industrial structure. What we mean is to eliminate low-end industries, not to bring about the population redistribution." Zhao explained.
