By Peter Ford of the Christian Science Monitor:

As policemen fan out through cities across China to snuff out the slightest sign of North African-style protests, the country’s political leaders are pledging to tackle the economic problems that might spark popular discontent.

At this week’s annual National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s parliament, speakers from Premier Wen Jiabao on down have been stressing issues such as skyrocketing house prices, worrying inflation, and workers’ wages even above the once-sacred economic growth rate.

While it has so far been “absolutely necessary to make maintaining growth a priority … now we want to put more emphasis on ensuring and improving people’s livelihood,” the country’s top economic planner, Zhang Ping, told reporters last weekend.

This might be easier said than done, some independent economists are warning. “These changes will require a fundamental shift away from China’s current growth model,” says Michael Pettis, professor of finance at Peking University.

Behind the shift in emphasis is a desire to ensure social stability, explains Zhao Xiyun, Deputy Director of the School of Finance at People’s University in Beijing. “That is the single most important thing for the government and the [ruling Communist] party,” he says.

Read full article at the Christian Science Monitor.