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BEIJING, Feb. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- In 2050, 1.3 billion Chinese will live
in a moderately developed society, with a minimum monthly income of 1,300 U.S.
dollars, an average life-expectancy of more than 80 years and social services
available to all, according to a new report.
The blueprint was drawn up by a research team with
the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Using statistics provided by national
institutes and world organizations, the report said that by then, no one in
China will live with an annual income of less than 668 yuan (81 U.S. dollars)
per capita, the country's absolute poverty line.
He Chuanqi, head of the research team who compiled
the report, told Xinhua that to attain this goal, China should follow two
stages of social transformation. It should first turn into a city-based
industrialized society from the present agricultural one, and then step into a
knowledge-oriented society with rural and urban areas developing at the same
rate.
By 2050, 80 percent of the urbanization work in China
will have been completed, the researcher said.
He added that the social transformation will also
bring great changes to peoples' life-styles, as 80 percent of the population
would have access to information industry services, 50 percent could afford
overseas travel and 50 percent would own private cars.
However, he was keen to point out that the current
situation is still not that optimistic. The economic index of China in 2001
equaled that of the United States 100 years ago. China is lagging far behind
developed countries in terms of urbanization, life-expectancy and adult
literacy.
He also noted that the social transformation will
change peoples' opinions and life-styles, thus evoking controversy and provoking
social problems.
"Chinese society is now undergoing the first stage of
its transformation towards an industrialized society," He said, adding the
economic modernization in China has been faster than the social modernization
over the past 50 years. Enditem | 
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