Challenges for a better future

China's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) for national economic and social development has been applauded widely both at home and abroad. The plan calls for an annual growth rate of 7 percent from 2011 to 2015 but, as Premier Wen Jiabao said, the aim is to achieve a "high-quality and efficient annual growth rate".

China has been growing at an average annual rate of 10 percent since the reform and opening-up were launched in the late 1970s, which has helped lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. This is a remarkable achievement for the world's most populous country.

But despite all this the Chinese leadership have been sober-minded and have always kept in mind the challenges ahead. The challenges for China are many, but seven of them are very important.