国内英语新闻:China gov't work report draws global attention

Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asia Institute of the National University of Singapore, said he was most interested in the work report's approach to people's welfare.

During the 30 years of reform and opening-up, China had relatively ignored social reforms relating to employment, education, medicare and social security, Zheng said.

Investing more in the above fields and solving problems concerning people's livelihoods were conducive to the increase of the middle class in China, he said.

Hou Peishui, editor-in-chief of Philippine daily World News, said a reasonable income distribution system would not only help avoid a big gap between the rich and the poor, but help build a harmonious society.

Only through implementing reforms in the areas of medicare, education, housing and social justice could the Chinese people live a life with more happiness and dignity, Hou said.

UN official Hong said the funding the Chinese government poured into social services was relatively insufficient, especially in areas of education, health care and social security, which was one of the reasons why the consumption level of the Chinese people was relatively low.

The final goal of economic development was improving people's living standards and quality, not increasing GDP, Hong said.

Justin Yifu Lin, senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank, said the Chinese government this year would continue implementing a proactive fiscal policy.

There was still much room for increasing investment in China, Lin said, adding there was further potential for the improvement of domestic demand.

"I believe the goal of 8 percent growth in 2010 in the Chinese economy is possible," he said.

The Japanese researcher Sekiyama said the Chinese economy had maintained double-digit growth in recent years, which depended on strong domestic demand and increased export.

Major difficulties for the Chinese economy this year would be the side-effect of the easy monetary policy, which, if unnecessarily easy, would lead to the threat of housing bubbles and inflation, he said.

Asian Development Bank economist Park Cyn-young said: "Job creation is always the biggest challenge."

Authorities needed to especially strengthen the domestic demand base, and establish a stronger social safety net, so that "the people can feel assured to be able to spend," he said.

"Another challenge that they have to look at is inflationary pressure," the economist said. "We already see some signs in the property market."

Therefore, the government should properly adjust monetary policy to avoid restraining demand due to a rapid rise in inflation, he said.

Tarek El Sonoty, head of the diplomatic section of Egypt's Al Massai daily, said China would face challenges regarding trade frictions and the exchange rate of its currency.

In the long run, China needed to develop clean energy and reduce dependency on coal to control greenhouse gas emissions, he said.