China modernisation still a long way off: President Hu

BEIJING - Chinese President Hu Jintao has described his country as a developing country, and being a long way off from “modernisation”.

“We need to make long and hard efforts if we are to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects and basically achieve modernization,” Xinhua quoted the President, as saying.

Hu, who is scheduled to visit the US on January 18, has said his country’s Eleventh Five-Year Program played a significant role in the development of China. He further said that despite undergoing changes and facing challenges inside and abroad, Beijing is adhered to the Scientific Outlook on Development, strengthened and improved macro-regulation and gave a great importance to the basic role of market in resources allocation.

He further boosted that his country had taken proactive steps to deal with economic factors, maintaining steady and fast growth of the national economy, social stability and harmony.

“We continued to put people’s interests first and paid more attention to developing social programs and improving people’s livelihood,” he added.

He further said that the per capita incomes of urban and rural residents have risen at an average annual rate of over 9.3 percent and around 8 percent in the past five years, adding that population below poverty line in the rural areas was noticeably reduced.

The country has made rapid progress in the field of education, social security, health care and other social programs, he added. (ANI)