Abstract
China’s lack of social and labour policy coherence is an increasingly serious problem which threatens to undermine labour–capital relations and, ultimately, the sustainability of the country’s market transition. A particular constraint on the further development of the private sector is the absence of integrated social protection for rural migrants. These workers account for a large share of the private-sector labour force, yet many of them do not enjoy the same social security rights as urban residents. The Government has started to address this issue through tighter law enforcement but, the author argues, the solution may call for some institutional reform.