Improving the living conditions of low-income families, especially those of miners and foresters, has been a high priority on the agenda of China's central leadership during recent years and Vice-Premier Li Keqiang has paid numerous visits to shantytown families across the country, including a trip to Datong in 2009.
The central government invested 73 billion yuan in housing projects for slum residents from 2007 to 2011 and more than 10 million low-income households have moved to government-subsidized apartments measuring at least 45 square meters.
The two growing headaches for China's huge migrant working population are the inadequate social security and payment for working overtime, a Party congress delegate who is a lawyer said on Sunday.
A government crackdown in recent years has helped reduce cases of employers defaulting on wages, something that has plagued the 250 million farmers-turned workers, Tong Lihua, who provides legal aid to the migrant population, said on the sidelines of the 18th Party Congress.
Economic growth showed signs of recovery in October, generating optimism that the country could achieve its annual growth target of 7.5 percent.
Growth last month was driven mainly by industrial production, fixed-asset investment and domestic consumption.
China's local debt level has been decreasing over the past two years and the property loan risk is under control, China's top banking regulator said on Thursday.
The whole of the country's local government debt amounted to 9.25 trillion yuan ($1.48 trillion) at the end of September, Shang Fulin, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, said during a session of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which opened on Thursday.
China should firmly implement economic reforms and accelerate the change of its growth model in a bid to enhance the vitality and competitiveness of its economy.
The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China begins on Thursday.
It will usher in the country's new leadership lineup and will in all likelihood have an important influence on economic development into the next decade - including the market environment for international corporations operating in China.
In the run-up to the congress, China Daily conducted a survey of international companies on the event and their expectations for the country.
China's economic activity will continue to show a small pickup in domestic activity, with stable Consumer Price Index inflation and slowing Producer Price Index deflation.
China will see a shift from an investment-driven economy to a consumption-driven one in the coming decade, a development bolstered by increased urbanization and restructuring, economists said.
About 400 million Chinese rural workers are expected to become city dwellers in the coming 10 years, and the change will create considerable consumption demand, said Chi Fulin, president of the Hainan-based China Institute for Reform and Development.
Chinese people deem income the most important factor that determines their happiness and confidence about the future, a survey has found.
China Youth Daily polled more than 11,400 people nationwide and found 53 percent are confident about their lives over the next 10 years and they expect more income to help sustain such confidence.
More than 70 percent of people surveyed were between 23 and 42 years old, 30 percent earn less than 3,000 yuan ($480) a month and nearly 40 percent earn 3,000 to 10,000 yuan a month.
A product made by an innovative Beijing company is helping the city protect itself from disasters such as the exceptionally heavy rainstorm.
The economy is stable and GDP goals are attainable and China has the determination and capability to improve its economy, Premier Wen Jiabao said.
The decade since the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2002 has been an extraordinary period of growth. The world is undergoing extensive and profound changes, and the country is also going through a wide-ranging and deep transformation.
China's economic strength has increased substantially, and major breakthroughs have been made in reform and opening-up. Both urban and rural incomes have risen considerably. Living standards are significantly higher, and China has increased its involvement and cooperation with other countries in a number of fields. It has also started to play a major role in international affairs.
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