A senior Chinese legislator said yesterday that the Chinese government is exerting efforts to tackle the wealth disparity that emerges with its rapid economic development.

Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, told an international economic forum held in Cairo that China is experiencing a steady transition from the planned economy to the socialist market economy, with an average economic growth of 9 percent per year. China's gross domestic product amounted to US$2.5 trillion in 2006 and its people's income also enjoyed a speedy increase.

However, Cheng said that as a nation with expansive territory, the development in different areas, such as in the coastal and inland, and the urban and rural areas, is imbalanced. The wealth gap still exists in China.

The Chinese government is making efforts to address those problems, such as repealing taxes on peasants and encouraging philanthropy, he said.

Cheng also briefed the forum on other issues, including China's social security system and the government's supervision of the market.

Cheng traveled to Egypt following his trip to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos of Switzerland.

(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2007)