More equal tax system needed

The Chinese dream of rejuvenating and re-energizing the Chinese nation, which President Xi Jinping has positioned as a rallying cry for the further development of a harmonious China, needs to be accessible to most, if not all, Chinese citizens.

At the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Chinese leaders firmly set a goal to double the country's GDP, and per capita income of urban and rural residents by 2020 to establish a moderately prosperous society in all respects. But given the well-documented income gap between rural and urban areas, the absolute difference in incomes would surely widen in this process. It is hard to eliminate this relative poverty, though it must be conceded that living costs are lower in rural areas.

Nevertheless, a positive step toward income redistribution is needed to lessen the urban-rural divide as urbanization gains pace.