Official: Equal rights part of household reform

The country's rural population will enjoy equal rights with urban residents in employment, education, medical care and housing as part of efforts to reform the household registration system, a senior official from the Ministry of Public Security said on Wednesday.

By 2020, China will set up a modern household registration management system, and a mobile rural population of 100 million people will be settled in urban areas alongside city households, Huang Ming, vice-minister of the Ministry of Public Security said during a press conference.

"With the cancellation of household registration differences, Chinese rural residents will enjoy equal rights, including education, career opportunities, medical care, pensions and housing with urban residents across the county, especially in major cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou," Huang said.

The introduction of such a measure will be conducive to the reasonable flow of people to urban cities, and the setting up of a scientific population information management system.

Initially, Huang said, the country will take effective measures, such as a points system based on applicants' living and employment conditions, to scientifically control the flow of its population to the major cities.