CHINA’S economic boom has been a focus of world attention For more than a decade. Its GDP having increased almost 13-Fold in the past 15 years, economy and development are two of the most Frequently heard buzzwords in the Chinese media. China is also holding its own within the global economy. and in 2004 was the number one contributor to global trade growth. Products “Made in China” are to be seen in every country in the world, as are Chinese investors. The rapidly growing Chinese economy has indisputably brought with it improvements to living standards, but has also engendered social problems. At the Fourth Session of the Tenth National People’s Congress. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao listed in his 2006 government work report the problems that have emerged in the past five years of economic and social development. They are: an irrational economic structure; lack of motivation to innovate: excessive consumption of energy resources; alarmingly high environmental pollution; uneven regional development and a widening income gap; and sluggish promotion of social welfare. In order to solve these problems, the Chinese government has proposed a new pattern of economic growth whose emphasis is on social development and conserving energy and resources. Within this new development mode, economic growth will depend less on resource consumption and more on technological and human resources. In the past, the government sacrificed rural interests in order to boost industrial development in urban areas. Its current plan is to invest in and channel funds towards stimulating the rural economy, and also to make various public services available throughout China’s vast countryside. CHINA’S economic boom has been a focus of world attention For more than a decade. Its GDP having increased almost 13-Fold in the past 15 years, economy and development are two of the most Frequently heard buzzwords in the Chinese media. China is also holding its own within the global economy. and in 2004 was the number one contributor to global trade growth. Products “Made in China ” are to be seen in every country in the world, as are Chinese investors. At the Fourth Session of the Tenth National People’s Congress. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao listed in his 2006 government work report the problems that have that have that in emergencies the five years of economic They are: an irrational economic structure; lack of motivation to innovate: excessive consumption of energy resources; alarmingly high environmental pollution; l development and a widening income gap; and sluggish promotion of social welfare. In order to solve these problems, the Chinese government has proposed a new pattern of economic growth whose emphasis is on social development and conserving energy and resources. Within this new development mode In the past, the government sacrificed rural interests in order to boost industrial development in urban areas. Its current plan is to invest in and channel funds towards stimulating the rural economy, and also to make various public services available throughout China’s vast countryside.