Reforming and standardizing income distribution system are very important to China as the country's economic reform and development is at critical juncture, participants of a high-level symposium agreed in Beijing on Thursday.

 

President Hu Jintao, also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), presided over the symposium where China's democratic parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and non-party personages were invited to give their opinions on the upcoming income distribution reform.

 

A release from the symposium said that the CPC would "seriously consider and absorb" the comments and advice which Hu said were "full of insights".

 

Calling the reform "an important issue in China's political and economic life", Hu said in a speech that the CPC Central Committee would strive to defend social equality and close the wealth gap by raising the income of the low-paid, expanding the size of the middle classes, wiping out illegitimate incomes and putting a curb on excessively high salaries.

 

A source close to the meeting said that reforming the payment system for civil servants was high on the agenda of the symposium.

 

Under the Civil Servants Law implemented on January 1, China must have a uniform salary system across the country. This would mean there would be no gap in salaries for civil servants of the same rank.

 

Currently, the salaries for civil servants of the same rank mainly depend on the well-being of local government finances and therefore their pay varies with regions. To remedy the situation, Hu proposed that extra stipend should be granted to civil servants working in poor areas and in the regions.

 

He said that "a rational and scientific" salary system for civil servants and "a reasonable pay rise mechanism" not only suit China's economic system but will also help secure a steady and robust civil service and facilitate reforms of the income distribution system across the country.

 

Hu said that the core issue was to establish a good framework which could turn wages into effective incentives inspiring civil servants to serve the country honestly and industriously.

 

The framework should also include a system that will penalize those who violate their jobs, he said.

 

The President said that China faced "a rather complicated situation" while advancing the salary reform on civil servants and must proceed from actual conditions to map out a plan allowing the country to take the very first step and make continuous improvement.

 

He said that to resolve the salary issue of civil servants, efforts must be made to coordinate the interests of all walks of life, especially those of the low-income, so that "the achievements of China's economic reform could benefit everyone".

 

To phase out the disparity, Hu said the policies must be made with the full consideration of the needs of the grass-roots and remote and poverty-stricken areas.

 

He said that the pensions for retirees of public institutions must be adjusted to a more reasonable level while those for retired company employees should be properly raised.

 

Hu also noted the stipend standards for disabled servicemen, family members of revolutionary martyrs and servicemen, retired veterans and cadres and the basic subsistence for urban dwellers need to be adjusted.

 

Given that the reform concerns the essential interests of every Chinese, the President urged domestic parties, All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and people with non-party affiliations to keep a close eye on this issue and timely transmit the opinions at the grassroots to the government departments concerned.

 

Jia Qinglin and Zeng Qinghong, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee attended the symposium at which Premier Wen Jiabao introduced the situation on income distribution reform.

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 7, 2006)