No country has experienced such a fast and stable growth over
the past three decades as China.
Its economy has expanded at an annual rate of 9.7 percent since
1978 - almost three times as fast as the world average - and has
maintained double-digit growth in the past four years.
An 11.5-percent growth in the first half of this year took China
closer to overtaking Germany as the world's third largest economy,
with its 1.3 billion people well on track to enjoying "a well-off
society of a higher standard", as portrayed by the Communist Party
of China (CPC).
The most populous nation is in the fast lane. Its per capita GDP
hit US$800 in 2000 when "the people became well-off by and large",
according to the Communist Party Congress report in 2002. The
nation then took two years to raise the figure to 1,000 dollars,
and another four years to 2,000 dollars.
The figure will top US$3,000 by 2020, according to a plan put
forward at the 2002 Party Congress.
"The day will come sooner than expected as the current growth is
faster than the annual average of 7.2 percent necessary for the
realization of this goal," said Zhuang Jian, an economist with the
Asian Development Bank.
The blistering rate of economic growth alone, however, does not
ensure "a well-off society of a higher standard".
"The well-off life we are leading is still at a low level; it is
not all-inclusive and is very uneven," the Party's mouthpiece
People's Daily said in a commentary earlier this year.
"We must be aware that China is in the primary stages of
socialism and will remain so for a long time to come," it
added.
Thanks to the economic takeoff, the Chinese leadership has been
able to further promote the welfare of the common people. It has
recognized the need to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor
and to lift tens of millions above the poverty line.
A medical insurance system, recently launched in 79 cities as a
pilot project, will benefit all urban residents by 2010, while a
minimum living allowance system is under development to cover the
vast countryside.
To reduce financial burdens on farmers, China abolished the
2,600-year-old agricultural tax, exempted rural students from
tuition fees for nine years of compulsory education and introduced
a medical care scheme, under which the government helps fund
farmers' medical expenses.
From 2002 to 2006, the per capita income of Chinese farmers has
risen by an annual average of 6.2 percent. For the first time since
1985, the growth rate has exceeded 6 percent for three straight
years.
But the gap is still widening. The income of urban residents in
2006 was 3.28 times that of rural ones, up from 3.22 in 2005 and
3.21 in 2004. "Farmers have been getting rich fairly fast, yet
still more slowly than urban dwellers," said Vice-Minister of
Agriculture Yin Chengjie.
With the economic growth no longer the top priority, the
government has focused its macro-control policy on energy
conservation and emission reduction in order to enhance harmony
between man and nature and ensure sustainable development.
To produce 5.5 percent of the world's GDP, China currently
uses15 percent of the world's coal consumption, 30 percent of the
world's steel and 54 percent of the world's cement.
The last five years also saw improvements in socialist democracy
and the legal system, with people's interests better respected and
lawmakers soliciting public opinions for major laws on property
protection and personal income tax.
Last month, the Beijing government held a public hearing to give
the public a real say on cutting subway fares.
Two options were proposed: two yuan (US$0.27) for each ticket or
a flexible scheme ranging from two yuan to four yuan.
The first one, obviously cheaper for commuters, won the favor of
a majority of the attendants and was adopted by the government.
"It will cost the government an additional 1 billion yuan a year
but we must respect the decision made by the public," said Zhou
Tianyong, deputy director of the Research Office of the Party
School of the CPC Central Committee.
(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2007)
