REFORMS FOR EQUITY

Tong Xin, a professor with Peking University's sociology department, considers equal access to education one of the essential factors for realizing social equity.

Equal access to education concerns both current and future generations in the country, and is an important "modulator" in society, as it addresses social imbalances and enables hard-working people to raise their status, she said.

China watcher Robert Lawrence Kuhn of the United States stressed that economic development remains China's top priority, "because only greater industrial capacity and higher enterprise productivity can provide the resources and funding for essential social programs."

However, he said the country also needs to quicken the pace of reform in political, economic and social arenas, and "it has now become, for China, more risky to delay reforms than to accelerate them."

The newly-elected leadership of China's ruling party has pledged to resolutely advance reforms.

Earlier this month, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, vowed "No stop in reform, and no stop in opening up," during a trip to south China's Guangdong Province.

The CPC should deepen reform in vital fields with more political courage and wisdom in a timely manner, he said.