Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met the press

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Monday that political restructuring should be pushed forward in an orderly way under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and in a stable and harmonious social environment.

It is by no means easy to pursue political restructuring in such a big country with a population of over 1.3 billion, he said.

Wen made the remarks at a press conference right after the conclusion of the annual parliamentary session, noting that "reform is an eternal theme of history." [More about Premier Wen's press conference]

Political restructuring and economic restructuring should be advanced in a coordinated way, he said, adding that political restructuring offers a guarantee for economic restructuring. Without political restructuring, economic restructuring would not succeed.

The premier said that corruption posed the biggest danger. "To eliminate the breeding ground of corruption, we should pursue institutional reform."

"The fate of a country lies in the hearts of its people," Wen said. "If we are to address the people's grievances and meet their wishes, we must create conditions for the people to criticize and supervise the government."

He said fairness and justice are the defining features of socialism. "We must promote fairness in income distribution and gradually narrow the widening income gap."

He also vowed to promote fairness in the distribution of educational and health care resources, so that all people will be able to share the benefits of the country's reform and opening up.

"If we are to achieve all these above-mentioned goals, we must pursue economic restructuring and political restructuring," the premier said.

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