"Building an all-round, well-off society" is China's target for the first two decades of the 21st century. The Institute of Statistical Science under the National Bureau of Statistics of China recently issued a monitoring report showing that by 2008 China had reached 74.6 percent of its targets in constructing a "well-off society," up from 72.7 percent in 2007. The report also shows major difficulties in the way of China's efforts to build a totally prosperous society. The key is to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor.

Six aspects of statistical monitoring

The kind of well-off society China envisages is not only one that ensures enough food and clothing for its people, but also one supporting coordinated development of the economy, society, democracy, the environment and other areas.

The Institute of Statistical Science is monitoring the country's efforts toward this aim. It covers six areas: economic development, social harmony, quality of life, democracy and the legal system, education and culture, and resources and the environment. There are 23 indexes.

The monitoring shows that in 2008, the Chinese economy maintained stable and relatively rapid growth, achieving 67.9 percent of its aims, up by 2.3 percentage points from the previous year. Social harmony improved to 76.1 percent, up by 4.1 percent; residents?quality of life gradually improved, to 79.9 percent, up by 1.6 percent; democracy and the legal system also improved to 91.1 percent, up by 1.2 percent; culture and education developed steadily at 67.3 percent, the same as the previous year. Resources and the environment received much attention, increasing to 74 percent, up by 1.8 percent from the previous year.

Major difficulties exist

The report also analyzed the main difficult points in China's efforts to reconstruct society.

First, there is still a big gap between the target and the country's current economic development level. In 2008, the degree for "economic development" was only 67.9 percent. Although it improved compared to 2007, it was the lowest of the six indexes. Therefore, developing the economy remains the major priority.

Second, in 2008, Chinese residents's per-capita disposable income kept growing, per-capita housing area expanded minimally, and average life expectancy grew. All in all, living conditions somewhat improved. But, compared with the growth rate of per-capita GDP, per- capita disposable income is rising quite slowly, the mortality rate of children under the age of live remains high; and some people are in urgent need of better housing, particularly young people and middle-income families. There is still much work to be done in improving living conditions.

Third, ensuring the sustainability of resources and the environment in the context of rapid industrialization and urbanization poses a big challenge. In 2008, realization in the resources and environment index was only 74 percent, and there exist huge gaps between current per-unit GDP consumption and environment quality index and the aim of a well-off society.

Besides, given present development trends, some indexes may not be so attainable. As examples, although the added value of the tertiary industry makes up a big proportion of China's GDP, its growth rate is relatively slow. The Gini coefficient which measures differences in income equality nationally shows that the income gap between rural and urban residents has continued to expand since 2000. Furthermore, although basic social security coverage has sharply increased since 2004, there is room for further improvement. The quality of surface water remains low. All of these problems demand attention.

The key: Narrow the gap between the rich and the poor

The monitoring report also revealed that in 2008, the Gini coefficient and the income gap between rural and urban residents still fell far behind the target of a well-off society. Meanwhile, the east, central, west and northeast regions (especially among different provinces and municipalities) differ greatly in their building processes for a well-off society.

In 2008, the east region realized 83.5 percent of its targets for building an all-round well-off society, ranking top among the country's four big areas. The northeast region was next at 77.6 percent. The central region was ower than the national average at 72.4 percen, while the western region stood at only 66.3 percent, 8.3 percent lower than the national average.

In terms of economic development, in 2008, the realization degree in the eastern region reached 83.1 percent. In the northeastern area, it was 75.2 percent, the level of the east in 2006. The degreein China's central and western regions were respectively 57.3 percent and 55.5 percent, the 2000 level of the east region.

In terms of the standard of living, realization in the eastern region reached 90.3 percent, basically hitting its target. There was a big gap between the central and northeastern and the eastern regions, with realization respectively at 79.3 percent and 78.9 percent. The western region only managed 69.4 percent, the 2000 level for the east and the 2004 level for the central and western regions.

In terms of differences among the provinces and municipalities, the east, as well as Beijing and Shanghai, have basically reached their targets, with a realization degree of over 90 percent, while the degree for Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu and Guizhou is still below 60 percent, having not yet reached an overall well-off level. The report says the key to building an all-round well-off society is how to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor in different classes and regions.