2010-04-29 07:55

Editor's note: President Hu's urge for faster income growth clearly underscored the urgency to allow Chinese workers to reap the full rewards of their labor, which is in turn a precondition for domestic consumption to surge.

President Hu Jintao's call for continuous efforts to lift workers' incomes represents an official recognition of their great contribution to China's social and economic development.

More importantly, a significant increase in wages as a share of the country's gross domestic product is the key to addressing imbalance in the Chinese economy.

At a rally honoring national labor heroes on April 27, Hu vowed that the government will take "political, economic, social, legal and administrative measures" to protect the interest of workers to boost social equality and justice. It will also work to create more jobs and lift their wages.

Such a high-profile commitment to higher wages is certainly an overdue salute to the hundreds of millions of workers in the country who have made significant efforts to help build a well-off society in an all-round way.

There is also a far-reaching significance of raising incomes for laborers: It is the only way for China to effectively boost domestic consumption to pursue sustainable economic growth.

Admittedly, the country's remarkable economic expansion over the past three decades has generated a steady increase in workers' incomes. But the rise of their wages is too slow compared with the expansion of national wealth. As a result, consumption has actually fallen as a share of GDP in recent years.

The global economic crisis since late 2008 has made it clear that China can no longer rely excessively on investment and export for growth. China must embrace consumer-led growth to address both domestic and global economic imbalance.

President Hu's urge for faster income growth clearly underscored the urgency to allow Chinese workers to reap the full rewards of their labor, which is in turn a precondition for domestic consumption to surge.

(China Daily 04/29/2010 page8)