With its high-speed trains, acres of wind farms and 20-year plans to transform dozens of cities, China has won itself a reputation for addressing long-term challenges just at a time when western democracies appear mired in fractious disputes.
Yet there are some very large caveats to this can-do image, none more so than the government's halting efforts to reform the hukou system of residence permits that effectively treats people in rural areas as second-class citizens.
When China's Premier Wen Jiabao gives his annual “work report” to the National People's Congress today, one of the most closely watched issues will be what he has to say about getting rid of the hukou.