China seeks to raise minimum wage over 5 years

HONG KONG, July 1 (Yonhap) -- China aims to raise the country's minimum wage by an annual average rate of at least 13 percent over the next five years in a bid to reduce income disparity and boost domestic consumption, a government statement said Friday.
The Chinese government has been either directly or indirectly promoting an increase in the income level of both urban and rural residents as it sees domestic consumption as a driver of China's future economic growth.
China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said in an online statement that minimum wages in most parts of China will reach more than 40 percent of the average income of employees in urban areas by 2015.
While China has overtaken Japan as the world's second-largest economy, the country's consumption has not been seen as matching that level, largely due to an urban-rural disparity and a widening income gap between rich and poor.
Income redistribution has been one of the priorities for China's government officials when they gathered earlier this year to discuss economic plans for the 2011-2015 period.
In the first quarter of this year, 13 provinces raised their minimum wages by 22.6 percent on average.
According to the human resource ministry, Shenzhen is currently the Chinese city with the highest monthly minimum wage with 1,320 yuan (US$204). The city with the highest hourly minimum wage is Beijing with 13 yuan.