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China leader calls for reforms
[Al Jazeera] China will be facing tough choices in trying to strike a balance between creating jobs and cooling inflation, its premier has said as he urged economic and political reforms.Wen Jiabao, however, denied that his government risks the possibility of civil unrest similar to that seen in parts of the Middle East. He said the first half of the year would be a tricky time for steering the world's second-biggest economy. The Chinese premier was speaking on Monday at the end of the annual National People's Congress -- the Chinese parliament -- which approved the country's next five-year development plan. China's leaders fear rising inflating -- which topped expectations at 4.9 per cent in the year to February -- could fan discontent and erode the standing of the ruling Communist Party. "Inflation is like a tiger. Once you let it out, it's very hard to cage again," he told a news conference at the end of the session. Reiterating that controlling inflation was China's top priority, Wen said the government would succeed in its work. "I only want to say that we are confident that we can manage inflationary expectations properly," he said. "We can't rest easy about prices." The Chinese premier blamed external factors as a major cause of inflation, including loose monetary policies in other countries, high global commodity costs and rising wages in China. Posted by: Fred 2011-03-15 |
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