Only consistent reforms will provide a strong driving force for economic transition and achieving a xiaokang society

Not long ago, foreign media were saying that China will overtake the United States to become the world's largest economy by 2020. Reading this, I could not help but be wary, not because China cannot afford to be addicted to such puffery, but as many previous occasions prove, such exaggerated "praise" from the West is usually followed by a new round of uproar and suspicion about the so-called China threat.

What really caught my attention though is the importance of the year of 2020 for China and the Chinese people. That is the target for China to become a xiaokang, moderately prosperous, society, and the prospect of China becoming the world's largest economy suggests that strategic goal is near at hand.

In 2008, President Hu Jintao vowed to develop China into a higher-level xiaokang society in which all citizens would benefit from economic progress by the time the Communist Party of China celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2021.

Obviously, there is only a decade left for the nation to fulfill the goal of building a moderately prosperous society, which means that the government and people will need to move into top gear during the next 10 years.

With this in mind, the heated discussion and endorsement of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) at the fourth plenary session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) is of great significance. It is no exaggeration to say that the 12th Five-Year Plan is a crucial point in the nation's efforts to achieve a higher-level xiaokang society.

Time and tide wait for no man.

So, what exactly is a xiaokang society? A xiaokang society is one in which most people are moderately well off and live in harmony with each other as well as with nature.

It is to be hoped that, during the period of 12th Five-Year Plan, China can eliminate the obstacles that are impeding the nation's social progress and address a variety of issues that have emerged. There are a number of extremely urgent tasks that need to be addressed, such as adjusting the economic structure and narrowing the income gap, and protecting the natural environment and improving the social environment.

Whether these can be achieved will determine whether people are able to live comfortably and whether they can enjoy social stability and harmony. Only if the people are free from anxiety can a society give the public enough respect and dignity.

Of course, to finally achieve the policy expectations and strategic goals of the 12th Five-Year Plan, reforms in economic and political structure need to be continued, because only consistent reform can provide a strong driving force for the acceleration of the transition of the nation's economic development model.