Another highlight of Wen's report is that the government will increase its input to expand the country's rural medical care system to cover more than 80 percent of counties, county-level cities and city districts in China.

China plans to gear down its economic growth to 8 percent this year, a level lower than the staggering 10.7 percent GDP expansion in 2006, Wen said, pledging to enhance and improve macroeconomic controls.

Last year, Wen also set the target at 8 percent growth but in the end the real growth hit 10.7 percent.

(China Daily 03/07/2007 page5)