The just-concluded annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee were especially important for two reasons. First, they signalled the beginning of the 12th Five Year Plan (2011-2015). Second, the new plan signals the formal restructuring of China's economy to focus on domestic development. Many believe that the end result will be momentous, in large part because of China's pivotal role in helping the world economy recover.

The economic restructuring has a special meaning for China. For example, there will be material development in the high-speed train network and other infrastructure facilities. There will also be socio-economic development with long-term significance, intended to narrow the widening income gap between the rich and the poor, to lift more people out of poverty, and to fortify a growing, strong and stable middle class.

Given the government's goal of social economic development, they will naturally have implications on the reforms in individual income tax and income distribution. Public sentiment is now galvanized over the reforms, which aim to help the poor and focus on larger policy issues of fair wealth distribution and better livelihood for the people.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, recently sent a draft on income tax reform to the NPC's Standing Committee, the country's top legislature, for approval even as the public debates whether the individual income tax threshold should be raised from 2,000 yuan ($304) to 3,000 yuan or 5,000 yuan a month or whether a more comprehensive tax reform (reducing tax brackets and simplifying tax rates) should be implemented.

Income distribution reform is the other important issue. The 12th Five-Year Plan, for example, aims to raise the annual growth of per capita disposable income by 7 percent both in urban and rural areas. Interestingly, the annual national GDP growth rate for the next five years has been lowered to 7 percent. The government has already implemented some measures to reform income distribution, including increasing the wages of low-income people, protecting legal income and cracking down on illegal earnings, and regulating excessively high incomes.

On Monday, Premier Wen Jiabao addressed a press conference after the conclusion of the NPC session. Premier Wen's remarks reiterate the importance of improving people's livelihood, a point highlighted even in his Government Work Report on March 5. The report says the income tax and income distribution reforms are key steps toward realizing fair wealth distribution and thus improved livelihood for the people.

The NPC and CPPCC sessions discussed socio-economic issues which exuded passion, reason and will - the passion to promote people's well-being, the exercise of reason to find ways for such promotion, and the will to deliver what people need.

The sessions provided the rationale for ensuring fair distribution of wealth and improvement in people's livelihood. It goes something like this: In the past 30 years, China's "creation of shared national wealth", achieved pragmatically "a footprint with every step" at a time, must "benefit all Chinese people".

It takes good governance, and people's hard work and sacrifices, to create national wealth. And this is the time to deliver the benefits of this wealth back to the people, where it belongs. A "people-based" government must therefore be "law-based" and "service-oriented", and government workers must be "true public servants".

National wealth now supports China's modernization. With the creation of wealth comes the responsibility to distribute it fairly to support and improve people's livelihood. The primacy of people's livelihood is rooted in the Chinese tradition of governance. This unbroken line of thinking goes back to philosopher Hsunzi (313 - 238 BC) who said: "Without enriching people materially, there is no way to develop them." The book, Guanzi (attributed to statesman Guan Zhong, about 725 - 645 BC), states similarly: "When the granaries are full, people know their rites and manners; when fed and clothed, people know their sense of honor and shame." A modern translation would be something like this: "To live well is the most fundamental of human rights."

It is in this sense that China's reform and opening-up should be appreciated. Economic reform has eradicated poverty to a large extent and enabled people to lead a better life. In a short period of one generation, China succeeded in lifting 400 million people out of poverty. Within another one to two decades, China aims to root out poverty altogether.

Everyone is impressed by China's status as the world's second largest economy. But in terms of per capita income, China still ranks below more than 100 countries. China remains a developing country, but one that has discovered a way to eradicate poverty. This is a powerful demonstration of human rights in action, as opposed to human rights in locution. China's success will have lasting implication on countries still battling with poverty.

The world may be interested in knowing that China's enormous economic and human rights success is because of its radical pragmatic approach, akin to Deng Xiaoping's "crossing the river by feeling the stones". China did not start its journey on the "river" of economic reform with a universal model. In the beginning and along the way, the only aspects China knew were conditions such as currents of unpredictable socio-economic twists and turns along with favorable conditions, or the visible and invisible factors (or "stones"), which offered footing and direction.

The Chinese people are close to the other shore of the turbulent river thanks to their sacrifices, passion, reason and, above all, will. Even now Premier Wen uses phrases like "a footprint with every step" to describe how tasks are done pragmatically. This radical pragmatic tradition, rooted in Chinese culture and philosophy, can be traced to philosophers Confucius (551 to 479 BC), Laozi (4th century BC), and Mozi (circa 470 - 391BC).

But it should be known that whatever China has achieved (and is achieving and will achieve) is for "peace and harmony".

The author teaches philosophy in the United States.