The Chinese capital will strive to limit its mounting population within 18 million by 2020, a senior municipal official has said on the sideline of the ongoing annual session of China's legislature.

 

The target on population control was made in line with the overall layout for the city's economic and social development, said Qiang Wei, a deputy to the National People's Congress, and deputy secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China.

 

Beijing had more than 15 million residents at the end of 2005, including 11 million permanent residents -- or holders of the city's "hukou" (a permanent household registration certificate), and at least 4 million migrants, according to official statistics.

 

Migrant people, especially surplus rural laborers who have taken up non-agricultural jobs in the city, have forcefully contributed to the population explosion in recent years.

 

The municipal government plans to restrain population growth through economic methods, such as economic restructuring and proper administration of rental accommodations.

 

The current regulations on rental accommodations will be revised this year, according to Qiang.

 

He called on the migrant people to apply for temporary residential cards, a mechanism facilitating the municipal authorities to better manage the floating population.

 

Qiang vowed to offer better services to migrant people rather than simply confine them, saying holders of these cards will receive better services in children's education, health care, vehicle purchase, and family planning in the future.

 

A new government organ will be set up for the administration of migrant people, which on the other hand takes charge of the city's overall development and the distribution of urban resources, the official said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2006)