The Role of Migration in Chinese Rural-urban Harmonious Development

This paper examines the role of migration in Chinese rural-urban harmonious development, one of the most important products of China's reform and open-door policies since the 1980s, from the perspective of households migrating, regional development and regional integration. The emergence and development of the rural-urban migration has been one response to widening regional gaps. It is the migrants who have also played an important role in the prosperity of coastal areas, and they are instrumental in the development of their hometowns, helping to reduce the problem of regional disparity in China. There are some institutional restraints and economic restraints that slow down the flow of rural-urban migration, which takes care of urban population volume. Finally, some suggestions are made.