More household registration reform in works: official

China is about to further reform its household registration system by allowing more migrant workers to obtain registration paperwork in cities, a top official said on Saturday.

Chen Xiwen, deputy head of the central government's Rural Work Leading Group, said at an urbanization forum in Beijing that a new set of reform measures approved by one of China's highest political bodies will be released soon.

Although Chen did not name an exact date, he said the reform will allow those migrant workers who have spent many years working in the cities to finally obtain household registration, also known as hukou, a key document that allows urban residents to enjoy local social welfare or enroll their children in local schools.

Chen also said hukou policies will differ between cities.

"The process of urbanization will not solve everyone's hukou problem. As for the management of migrant population, the old residential permit system will continue to exist for a long time," Chen said.

China has some 170 million migrant workers who are waiting to receive proper household registration paperwork, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Another 100 million are residing in their old villages or townships but no longer work in agriculture.

"Household registration reform cannot be rushed. The problem is more complicated than changing some names on a piece of paper," Chen said. "It implies solving employment issues, housing, social security and children's education for migrant workers."

In this year's government work report, Premier Li Keqiang said the government will urbanize 100 million farmers and assure they receive proper hukou.

The coming reform guidelines will also change the way China categorizes cities based on their size, Chen added.