The title is dry -- the "Communist Party of China Central Committee Proposal Regarding the Formulation of the 11th Five-Year Program for National Economic and Social Development" -- but its contents are very important. The document is an outline of how China can tackle the pressing problems created by its breakneck growth. It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of the government may depend on its contents: The strains within Chinese society are growing and may be approaching a breaking point.
The Chinese leadership had two objectives at last week's meeting of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee. The first was to provide an unblinkered assessment of the problems China faces. That list is long and growing. The country has enjoyed blistering growth -- sometimes topping 9 percent over the last decade -- but this growth has been uneven.
A recent Chinese government study revealed that the most affluent fifth of the country earns 50 percent of total income, while the bottom fifth claims only 4.7 percent. Urban residents on average earn nearly three times what rural dwellers make. Factor in noneconomic benefits that flow from city life -- such as access to education and health care -- and the disparities are some of the largest in the world.