In 2009, China succeeded in tiding over the impact of the worst global financial crisis in decades thanks to the government economic stimulus package, which included a CNY52 trillion (USD573.65 billion) two-year investment. But Premier Wen Jiabao’s government work report to China’s parliament shows that a crucial time has come for the country to make serious efforts to realise a "harmonious society" by solving such problems as an increasing gap between the rich and the poor, soaring property prices and ethnic tensions.
As Wen said in his report to the annual session of the National People’s Congress, which started on 5 March, China was the first country to emerge from the global economic downturn. In 2009, China’s GDP grew 8.7 percent. The rate was lower than the 9.6 percent growth in 2008 and the annual double-digit growth from 2003 to 2007.
(Source: The Japan Times Online)