China to raise earnings of middle-and-low income groups: official

BEIJING, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government is to raise the earnings of the middle and low income groups to boost consumer spending, said a senior economic planning official here Wednesday.

Zhang Ping, minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's top economic planning agency, made the remarks at a national meeting on development and reform.

The government will step up research on the optimization of the income distribution mechanism to improve residents' spending capability, Zhang told the meeting.

The government will also raise the pensions for enterprise retirees and improve treatment for those who enjoy special care, Zhang said, adding the government will continue to make improving people's livelihood a priority in 2010.

He said the government will exert more efforts to well address problems that have close bearing on public interests and ensure that all public members share the fruits of the development and reform, so as to safeguard social harmony and stability.

He noted more affordable housing will be offered to middle and low income families, and efforts will be stepped up to curb speculation in housing transaction.

The reconstruction of urban shantytowns, obsolete industrial and mining districts, as well as forestry regions will continue. Nomads will be encouraged to settle down, he said.

Zhang also said the government-led investment should play a bigger role in job creation. The basic social pension system should be completed to ensure social security.

Participants to the annual Central Economic Work Conference which concluded Monday agreed to fully implement and continuously improve the stimulus package and policies to cope with global financial crisis and boost development, and strengthen the role of domestic demand, especially consumption demand, in driving economic growth.