HONG KONG -- China under President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji astounded the world with its economic growth, reflected by a substantial increase in gross domestic product year after year. Yet the current leadership of President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao are making it clear that they have a somewhat different emphasis.
The new leadership has presented itself as a more caring government and advocated what it calls a scientific concept of development. Instead of blindly focusing on GDP growth, the emphasis is on "people-centered" development.
Wen, in his report to the 10th National people's Congress in March, said his government would "make development our top priority" but would at the same time "adhere to the scientific viewpoint of development" and would "put people first."