NZ trade deficit grows despite rising demand from China

16  January 2013

BEIJING – Chinese experts have lauded the nation’s move on Wednesday to raise pensions for corporate retirees, but also urged the government to set up an effective long-term mechanism for pension adjustment.

Chinese authorities have decided to raise the pension for corporate retirees by 10 percent to cope with rising living costs.

The new rules took effect on Jan 1, 2013, according to a State Council executive meeting, chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, on Wednesday.

The government has increased the corporate pension for nine consecutive years.

Data showed the average monthly pension for corporate retirees had increased from 700 yuan in 2005 to 1,893 yuan this year, representing a compound annual growth of 11.69 percent.

Raising pensions for corporate retirees not only guarantees their living standard, but also lets them enjoy the fruits of social development, said Zheng Bingwen, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

“It is also a part of China’s program to double people’s incomes by 2020,” Zheng said, referring to the plan set out during last year’s 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to double the country’s 2010 gross domestic output and per capita income for both urban and rural residents by 2020.

Experts believe that the 10-percent increase is in line with the country’s slowing economic growth and moderate price rises.