China’s Urban Population Exceeding Half: Challenges and Responses

China’s urban population exceeded rural population for the first time in Chinese history,reaching 51.27% in 2011.However,the level of urbanization has been exaggerated.If deducting the landless peasants under forced urbanization and migrant workers being not treated equally in the cities,China’ s actual urbanization level stood at 41.6% .There are challenges ahead.For example,an urban social value system has not been established in our society; we don’ t have a clear understanding of the role of cities and how to develop a city; urban management has not prepared well for urbanization development; and there is a long way to go in achieving equal treatment for all of the Urban residents.To cope with the challenges of urbanization,we need to improve the quality of urbanization,correctly understand the role of urbanization and its substance,follow the law of the urban development,and to explore building of an urban culture system.     

Urbanization Transition in China:From a Factor-driven to an Innovation--driven Approach

Cheap land and cheap labor have made the most important contribution to the rapid development of China’s urbanization during the past 30 years.However,this pattern of urbanization, which is factor-driven, dependent on land bonus and demographic dividend, is unsustainable.Excessive dependence on cheap land not only leads to inefficient allocation of urban resources, but also has negative impacts on the process of urbanization.Heavy reliance on demographic dividend would no longer be sustainable in the context of changing population structure.There is a need for urbanization reorientation, from a factor--driven to an innovation--driven approach.Innovation--driven urbanization requires industrial upgrading in urban areas so that new industrialization and new urbanization could be in synchronous progress.Smart city construction would facilitate integration of urbanization,industrialization and informatization.     

The Difference of Urban and Rural Ageing and Its Transition

In the process of population ageing in China, rural population has an increasingly higher proportion of elderly than the cities;it has been widely cited as one of the characteristics of population ageing in China. This paper compared China with o~her countries and reveals that the phenomenon of higher elderly proportion in rural population than the urban is universal in the world. The research finding shows that the urban-rural inversion of population ageing will not last for a long time. With the socioeconomic development, large-scale rural-urban migration and urbanization will approach to the end;the proportion of the urban elderly will eventually exceed that in the rural. During this process, the transition of urban-rural difference of population ageing will experience four phases.     

China’s Urbanization Strategy

This research develops specific goals,paths and strategies of urbanization in China upon analyzing the Chinese characteristics and future trends of urbanization.Urbanization will become basic national conditions of China’s future social development,which will have significant impacts on the sources and driving forces of future prosperity and development.However,current challenges in China’s urbanization are that population urbanization lags behind industrialization and land urbanization,and urbanization of the household registered population lags behind urbanization of the resident population.China’s urbanization development will be shifted from a pure speed approach to an approach combining speed with quality during the "Twelfth Five-Year plan" period,and the economic reform will enter into a new stage characterized by promoting in-depth urbanization and urban-rural integration.An urbanization model with Chinese characteristics would be developed by taking urbanization as the leading force in deepening the reform,directing at household registration system reform and employment promotion,enhancing urbanization quality,and promoting equalization of rural and urban public services.     

The Major Deviations of Urbanization in China

Urbanization is a major strategic issue in China’s economic transformation. This paper argues that China should coordinate the development of urbanization, industrialization,agricultural modernization,and informationalization,based on analysis of the five major deviations in the process of China’s urbanization.In order to advance the sustainable development of urbanization in China,following measures need to be taken by the government:balancing the development of large,medium-sized and small cities and towns,reforming the government’s fiscal and tax system,encouraging migrant workers and their families to work and live at local cities and towns,providing citizenship to migrant workers,and avoiding the inter-cities cutthroat competition on GDP.     

Fertility Transition in China:A Zigzag and Splendid Course

Examining China’s population changes in the past three decades demonstrates that China’s demographic transition has been successfully completed with a splendid and zigzag path.There are profound historical experiences and lessons.This paper reviews China’s fertility transition which is divided into four periods and argues that fertility changes are a result of the interactions between socioeconomic development,fertility behaviors and fertility policies.Substantial resistance to the "one-childpolicy" during 1979 to 1984 resulted in rebounding and fluctuating fertility.The baby boom occurred in the period 1985 to 1991 was a manifestation of the inherent laws of demographic dynamics,and subsequently forceful birth control was again mobilized.The period from 1992 to 1999 witnessed large declines in fertility which penetrates the replacement zone,showing that China was completing the fertility transition.China’s stabilizing low fertility and emerging population structural issues since 2000 call for comprehensive ways in addressing the population problems.     

Demographic Dividend,Population Aging and Raising the Retirement Age

China’s low fertility combined with increase in average life expectancy is leading to disappearing demographic dividend and population aging crisis. In this case, we may have a policy choice to raise the retirement age. Because the disappearing of demographic dividend gradually and the reversal of labor supply and demand may be the driving force of raising the retirement age, and the payment crisis of pension system which caused by the population aging may be the pulling force of raising the retirement age. If we consider the impact of this policy on urban employment and the laborheterogeneity in current conditions, we should carry out the practical policy which raise the retirement age slowly progressive and gradually.     

China Releases First Report on Urban Development

The China Urban Development Report (2001-2002), written by nearly one hundred well-known experts from home and abroad, was recently released in Beijing. It is a comprehensive monograph on China抯 urban development as well as an annual report that systematically studies urban development, construction, management, urbanization strategy and urban development capacity. The book consists of four chapters including an urban development strategy, urban index system design, statistics on urban deve…     

National Floating Population Reached 200 Million,Equalization of Family Planning Public Services in 49 Pilot Cities

The main characters of today’s floating population have changed. Following the progress of urbanization,China is experiencing the greatest migration of floating population in history. By 2010,the floating population had reached 221 million,and the Post- 80s generation became the majority.How to promote social integration for the floating population turned to be an issue needed to be considered. On 28 Februaryist March,National Population and Family Planning Commission held the meeting of"strengthening and innovating in service ma-     

The research of Longevity Population of the Sixth Census in China

The concept of＂urbanization on city and town level＂ is an expression of Chinese version, or a mainland understanding of China. However, city and town are on the different levels. In the light of census＇ measures on city population＂ and ＂town population, the paper tries to analyze population size aud its change on both ＂city＂ and ＂town＂ levels： to compare the different population density and their effect; to observe the mobile population between ＂city＂ and ＂town＂ level, and their age structure. The paper tries to explain two demographic effects fiom ＂city＂ and ＂town＂ levels on the course of Chinese urbanization.     

International Symposium Focuses on Environmental Protection

Dual efforts to tackle the scourge of environmental damage are to be maintained by China and Germany as urbanization gathers pace. The efforts will focus on technology that can limit the effects of mass migration and urban sprawl on the fragile environment. That was the message from the 10th Sino-German Symposium on Environmental Protection held on October 9, 2002 in Nanjing, capital city of East China抯 Jiangsu Province. Around 150 officials, experts and entrepreneurs from both countr…     

A Comparative Analysis of the Fertility of the Urban and Rural in China Since 2000

The different in the fertility of the rural and urban and future changing trend are very important questions to understand China’s population problem. This paper calculates the fertility of the urban and the rural since 2000 based on the statistical data and compares the fertility rate in the urban and the rural population since 2000. The finding shows that the TFR in the rural is less than 1.8 while the TFR in the urban is less than 1.3 and the difference is narrowing year by year. The fertility difference is mainly caused by the second child, generally speaking the second child fertility tend to increasing slightly while the first child fertility shows dramatic fluctuations because of the Chinese folk culture, the fertility fluctuation in the rural is much dramatic than that in the urban. The mean age at childbearing (MAC) has been delaying in both the rural and the urban areas in the decade.     

Major Challenges for China＇s Floating Population and Policy Suggestions： An Analysis of the 2010 Population Census Data

This study analyzes the trends and current characteristics of floating population in China and the major challenges they arc facing, on the basis of the latest population census data. The research shows that the size of floating population has increased continuously and rapidly, their mobility intensity is weakening, migration destinations are beginning to decentralize, majority of the migrants are moving with their spouses and more and more of them are taking their young children with them, the new-generation floaters whom wereborn after 1980 account for more than half of the entire floating population. The floaters are facing challenges such as unemployment, lack of social security, inequality in children＇s education, and barriers in social integration. This article proposes corresponding suggestions. The problem of new-generation floaters and floating children should be addressed adequately, and there is an urgent need to accelerate the establishment of social security for migrants.     

Breakthrough and New Projects for Reform of Household Registration System

Under the comprehensive deepening reform and promoting new urbanization,China launched a new round of reform of household registration system.Reform has a major breakthrough in five areas:to implement new urbanization strategy of human-centric,to achieve equalization of basic public services gradually,to break up land rights and rural migrants,to provide protection for family migrants,and to increase financial support by governments.But the reform still faces many difficulties,how to determine the conditions settled by city size is difficult to implement effectively,financial transfer payment system reform is facing enormous diffi culties,as well as the size of the urban population is diffi cult to determine etc.     

Financial Development and Risk Prevention： from the Perspective of Population

To discuss the current and future financial development and risk prevention, popu]ation as a long-term, systematic, and irreversible factor, should be taken into careful consideration. As for China, we should pay particular attention to the situation of rapid ageing and urbanization in the next 20 years, which would result in profound influence on this issue. To achieve coordinated development of population, resources and the environment,     

Quantitative Analysis on the Impact of Urbanisation on Chinese Population Aging

This paper systematically studies the impact of fertility, mortality, initial age structure and rural-urban migration on population aging in rural and urban China from 2000 to 2010. The results show that urbanisation plays a crucial role in population aging in both rural and urban areas and its inf luence is closely linked to the age pattern of the migrants. One third of young rural population transformed into urban population during that period. The contribution of rural-urban migration to population aging in rural areas is 43.4 percent, which is higher than any inf luences from population’s natural changes, and is dominant in population aging in the countryside. Rural-urban migration contributes-118.0 percent to population aging in urban areas by reducing the proportion of aged population and its influence was only lower than that of the initial age structure. The impact of urbanisation on population aging in towns is relatively limited. Among factors from population’s natural changes, the inf luence of the initial age structure is higher than those from changes of mortality and fertility. The paper discusses the causes and developmental trends of impact of urbanisation on population aging between rural and urban areas, and addresses some policy recommendations to deal with socio-economic challenges.     

Exploration and Establishment of the Chinese Model of Demographic Transition

Exploration of Chinese paths of socialist construction and demographic transition paralleled each other from 1949 to 1978.Mortality rate decreased rapidly during the early 1950s as a result of the public health campaign,which initiated the process of demographic transition in China.Countering the problem of rapid population growth in 1950s,China put forward the theory and the concept of "realizing planned childbearing",and the Chinese model of demographic transition was brewing.Orientation of the Chinese path of demographic transition was reinforced in the 1960s in the context of intensifying contradiction between population and socio-economic development.Finally,China launched the demographic transition by vigorously implementing population control and family planning in the 1970s in the midst of "Cultural Revolution" when the rapidly increasing size of population exerted great pressure on economic development.The Chinese path of demographic transition is determined by the changing characteristics of the times and China’s special national conditions.     

The Change and Trend of Population Momentum in China since 60 Years

This paper calculates total population momentum,urban and rural population momentum and agespecific population momentum in China since 60 years.The main findings and conclusions are as follows:Firstly,the power of population momentum of the positive growth is disappearing rapidly;Secondly,the cities are in the turning point of population momentum from positive to the negative growth while China’ s population growth was wholly attributable to momentum in the rural areas;Thirdly,China’ s population momentum of positive growth mainly is due to substantial growth of the old.     

The Large Population in China: A Major Obstacle to Modernization?

"A large population" has long been the most prominent national condition of China. Whilepopulation research has been of 20 years in China, the relationship between population andmodernization attracts not much attention, and in the practical life, population issues are typically regarded as issues of population quantity which in turn are oversimplified as fertility issues. Hence, a misunderstanding is prevailing that "a large population" is the whole thing ofChina's population problems. This issue of "Population and Development Forum" attempts to open up views objectively toexamine the actual situation of "a large population in China", and to bring together the wisdom of different disciplines on population problems influencing the process of modermization.     

A Study on the Causes of Population Urbanization Laging Behind Land Urbanization

Promoting the coordinative development of population urbanization and land urbanization is the key of China’s new-type urbanization.With the subject of analyzing the imbalance of the development of population and land urbanization,using panel data of provinces,we draw the following conclusions:firstly,acceleration of industrialization process causes massive extension of city construction land,but limits"absorb effect" on population urbanization,making population urbanization lag behind land urbanization;secondly local governments relying on land finance result in an inverse association between fiscal revenue and expenditure and urbanization,which aggravates the imbalance of population and land urbanization;thirdly,controlling of household register is the primary cause of the slow development of population urbanization,however,loosening this policy and reforming the institutions will promote the development of urbanization;lastly,lengthening the use periods of farmland is good for the coordinative development of urbanization for its"guarantee effect",but a perfect mechanism of land transfer should be taken for the premise.