Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has vowed universal pension coverage before 2013. “The Chinese people’s wish for better care for the elderly, which existed throughout our history, will finally come true in a foreseeable future,” Wen said Monday during a meeting concerning the implementation of trial pension programs for both urban and rural residents.

In the past, only urban employees enjoyed pensions. It is groundbreaking in China to create a universal pension system that everyone, including the unemployed and poor farmers, can benefit from. To bring hundreds of millions of farmers and unemployed city residents under the umbrella of a national pension system still sounded utopian until very recently.

Nevertheless, this is merely the first step. Under these trial programs, insured citizens will receive a monthly pension of at least 55 yuan ($8.5). Many criticize this amount as being disproportionate to the prices of commodities in a time of inflation. The pension standards will need to be raised gradually.

A more important problem is how to ensure the pension scheme becomes fairer. At the moment, the urban-rural dual structure still looms large. For instance, it is stipulated that migrant workers should be included in the pension program for employed urban residents. However, in reality, over half of migrant workers are categorized as being “self-employed.” Even if a migrant worker does have a legal employer, the latter is often reluctant to make pension payments.

Furthermore, due to their lifestyle, migrant workers may find it hard to relocate a pension account to a different city, although this barrier has theoretically been removed legally speaking.

The gap in pension allowances between rural and urban population is also yawning. The insurance system should gradually tilt toward people in rural and underdeveloped regions, so as to achieve relative justice. Richer people are able to buy more private pension schemes for themselves, and different classes may enjoy pension allowances at vastly different levels.

The interests of the country and its people can hardly be separated. The interests of the masses have been ignored for too long in China’s history.

Today, achieving full pension coverage largely depends on the solid financial capability of the nation. However, as the Chinese society is witnessing increasing social conflicts, more than a few tend to seek to divide the interests of the government and the public.

With significant civil livelihood projects such as the full pension coverage, China has a good chance of reviving closer ties between the two.