Gap between urban and rural Chinese's incomes likely to widen

In a report issued by the National Development and Reform Commission of China (NDRC) on July 31st, NDRC estimates that the second half of 2006 is likely to witness slowing increase in Chinese peasant's cash income and a continuously widening gap between urban and rural dwellers' incomes. NDRC says Chinese authorities will strengthen their support for policies of increasing peasant's income.

It is reported that in the first half of 2006, Chinese peasant's per capita income is 1797 yuan, up 11.9% in real terms against that in the same period of last year, but the growth rate is falling by 0.6 percentage points compared with that of last year. This decrease has caused concern to Chinese authorities.

The report of NDRC also cites several factors that will undermine growth in Chinese peasant's income in the second half of 2006, such as low grain prices, incessant fall in prices of livestock products and likely increase in prices of agricultural production materials.

NDRC cites the calculation made by other Chinese responsible department, saying that the fall in prices and increase in grain production costs alone have caused a loss of 30 to 50 yuan in peasant's net income.

NDRC reveals that Chinese authorities will take vigorous actions to do research on and establish a comprehensive subsidy system to guarantee peasant's gain from crop cultivation and will take stronger measures to adjust the prices of grain and production materials.

Besides, NDRC will take more efforts to improve the public services in rural areas. It also plans to guide and support Chinese peasants to seek employment in other sectors in order to keep peasant's income gaining continually.

Other than that, NDRC will begin to look for an optimal way to realize rural social endowment insurance in order to solve endowment insurance issue of all the Chinese peasants including those peasant workers.

By People's Daily Online