China to make it easier for citizens to settle in cities

China will relax restrictions for its citizens hoping to permanently settle in small and medium sized cities, state media reported on Thursday, but changes in the biggest cities such as Shanghai and Beijing will still be more limited.

The public security ministry will promote the "lifting" of urban settlement restrictions in cities with a permanent resident population of less than three million and "relax" settlement conditions for cities with a permanent resident population of three to five million, according to a press conference by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.

The policy will be rolled out in stages to ensure effectiveness.

Over the past decade a number of cities, in some cases in pilot schemes, have relaxed these policies.

Last month the eastern province of Zhejiang said it would lift all such restrictions for all cities except for its capital, Hangzhou. Thursday's announcement signals a much larger, nationwide relaxation.

For the "super-large" cities which have a permanent resident population above 5 million, such as Beijing and Shanghai, the changes are more muted. China will improve the points-based policy for people hoping to settle in these cities, the report said.