China needs to improve its system for distributing wealth and create a level playing field to close its yawning income gap, the country's top planner said.

At a press conference yesterday, Ma Kai, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said the income gap was indeed increasing, drawing the attention of the central government.

While noting that the general standard of living had improved in recent decades, Ma said people's incomes were increasing at varied rates.

"The gaps between urban and rural areas, different regions and social classes are widening," he said.

"If we turn a blind eye to the problem, it will influence the development of productivity as well as social stability."

An NDRC report released last month showed that though salaries had grown steadily in the past 15 years, the income gap had widened. The report said the top income earners earned many times more than those at the bottom end of the scale.

"We should improve our distribution system to make it fairer. And more importantly, we need to create an environment in which people enjoy the same opportunities and play by the same rule," he said.

The government has adopted a series of measures to tackle this problem, like pouring more money into the countryside and launching its "go west" strategy to support the country's western provinces, which lag far behind the coastal areas.

A system offering basic allowances to low-income people will be expanded to all rural areas this year, he added.

Also yesterday, Ma said the Chinese stock market was not powerful enough to exert a strong influence on the world share market in response to a question about the recent drastic fluctuations in the domestic stock market, which reportedly also sunk some of the world's major stock exchanges.

(China Daily 03/08/2007 page7)