Inclusive growth calls for action, not talk

The word "inclusive growth" is one of the key messages from the Fifth Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which ended in Beijing on Monday.

First used by Asian Development Bank economists in 2007, and then by President Hu Jintao in his speech at the APEC Human Resources Ministerial Meeting in Beijing a month ago, inclusive growth has often been defined in economic and social terms, emphasizing equality and benefit sharing in development.

That of course is vital, considering that China's supersonic economic growth in the last three decades has turned the once egalitarian society into one with a huge income disparity. Reform and opening-up has benefited certain groups a great deal while leaving many far behind.