China's resolve to bridge wealth gap highlighted(2)

GOVERNMENT TAKES ACTION

The official release of the Gini coefficient not only met the public appeal, but also will serve as evaluation criteria for income distribution reforms that are in the offing.

Bai Jingming, deputy director of the Research Institute for Fiscal Science, said the inequality index provides an objective statistical account for evaluating the complicated social issue, and it will serve as a foundation for the government's policymaking.

With the rapid economic growth since the reform and opening-up policy was adopted, the widening wealth gap between urban and rural areas and among different regions and social stratas has increasingly become an outstanding social problem.

And what's worse, behind the yawning gap are inequality in education, employment and public services and the unfair and illegal ways to become rich such as corruption and monopoly.

Aware of these pressing problems, China has vowed to double the country's 2010 gross domestic output (GDP) and per capita income for both urban and rural residents by 2020, according to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in November.

But Ma said that only doubling the GDP and per capita income is not enough. "China should make endeavors to better distribute the cake of its economic growth while trying to make it bigger, and strive to make the incomes of low- and middle-income residents grow faster."

To this end, the Chinese government has taken a slew of measures including improving the social security system, raising the individual income tax threshold and capping the salaries of senior executives at state-owned enterprises.

The country has also encouraged economic development in the central and western regions to benefit local residents.

In addition, recent prompt investigations into and punishment of officials abusing their power to seek improper profits demonstrated China's determination to fight corruption and eradicate illegal income.

Meanwhile, more efforts, experts say, should be made to solve the income disparity through institutional reforms such as breaking monopoly, wiping out "grey income," improving residents' employability and ensuring equal opportunities.

Only in this way can more people share the fruits of China's fast economic growth.