Urbanization and Children of Migrants in China

Abstract

Professor Kam Wing Chan, Professor of Geography, University of Washington - China’s population is rapidly aging. In recent years, the proportion of China's working-age population has been declining, and the society will face enormous problems caused by aging in the coming decades. In 2016, the government decided to reverse a 3-decade long policy of harshly restricting the number of children a couple could have and hope to increase the child population to slow down the speed of population aging. Ironically, at present there are about 100 million children of migrants, comprising 69 million “left-behind” children and 34 million migrant children, who are not receiving adequate care and education. Owing to China's special urban and rural institutions and policies and the high costs of urban living, most of them cannot accompany their parents to the city to live and go to school. These children face multiple challenges in their growing up, and this issue will affect their capacity to function adequately as workers and citizens in the future. This presentation examines the impacts of China’s urbanization on children of migrants, the recent trends and salient features of this huge children population. A geographical analysis linking up the provincial origins and destinations of migrants also sheds important light on the problem and various policies on children of migrants.