The Policy of Migrant Integration in Urban China
摘要
This chapter discusses China’s migrantUrban China integrationMigrant integration (shiminhua) policy, which was announced by China’s central government in 2016 and has become an essential tool for promoting the integration of the migrant population into urban society. The core of the shiminhua policy is to promote the urbanisationUrbanisation of the migrant population through reforming the household registration system, marketising housing, and equalising public services, especially to promote economic adaptation and social integration while improving the living conditions of low-skilled migrants. However, the intensification of marketisation has also exacerbated social inequality, especially in the labour marketLabour market of China’s large cities, where industrial transformation has favoured professional and wealthy workers and limited the integration path of other migrants. The shiminhua policy is often used by local governments as a justification to promote market competition and industrial transition. Local governments tightly control household registration (hukou) and affordable housing supply. However, the shiminhua policy has failed to truly address the needs of migrant groups due to the decentralisation of governance in China. Instead, it has exacerbated the inequality between urban and rural areas, as well as between social classes of migrants. This chapter analyses how the policy shapes migrant integrationMigrant integration through marketisation and discusses the problem of exacerbated social inequality behind the policy.