In an online chat with China's increasingly vocal web users on Saturday afternoon, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stated that the coming year would be one of the most "complicated" ever for the country.

Wen's decision to communicate directly with some of China's more than 300 million web users was taken ahead of the annual full session of China's top legislature - the National People's Congress, which begins meeting in Beijing this coming Friday, March 5, 2010.

Along with the concurrent meeting of the CPCCC, the NPC meeting is one of the most important events on the Chinese political calendar, with representatives charged with reviewing the administration's annual work report and passing legislation.

Wen engaged in a similar online exchange in the lead up to last year's major political meetings and the event seems to be turning into an annual ritual, similar to the press conference that the Chinese premier holds every year at the conclusion of the NPC, at which domestic and foreign journalists are given a rare chance to pitch questions direct to China's third most powerful politician.

The online event elicited nearly 240,000 questions this year, according to the Xinhua News Agency, who arranged and hosted the event on their website. A live broadcast of the event was also screened on CCTV 4.

During the two-hour exchange, Premier Wen replied to questions on a wide variety of topics ranging from housing prices to inflation, from education and medical reform to food security.

Aside from a brief mention of increasing trade friction between China and the US, the premier largely stuck to domestic issues and did not talk in detail about international affairs.

Housing Prices:

In response to a question about soaring housing prices in some areas of the country, Wen said he understood what it felt like to live in a small house and vowed to crack down on speculation in the property market while at the same time increasing the supply of government-subsidized housing.

The premier went on to state that since 2009, the central government was in the process of building 7.5 million low-cost houses over a three year period.

Inflation:

Wen also addressed online questions related to a possible outbreak of inflation after the huge amount of new lending that took place in 2009.

"Managing inflation expectations is a major task this year," said Wen, adding that the Chinese government would continue to implement a "moderately loose" monetary policy to ensure stable and rapid economic growth while managing inflationary expectations.

Education:

As for reform of the education system, Wen confessed that there were many problems with the current education system, and that things needed to change. He also noted that administrative ranking levels currently in place at universities - the system that endows the deans of Beijing and Tsinghua universities with the same authority as a deputy minister in the government - should be removed. He also advocated that individuals with a commitment to providing quality education should run schools.

Food Safety:

When responding to one participants question about food safety, Wen revealed 30 million children were affected by the tainted milk powder scandal, adding that the whole nation should draw lessons from the incident. He also vowed to severely punish companies that produce counterfeit products.

Sino-US Relations:

The premier was also asked about the country's trade ties with the US, and the friction that has been building in the relationship over the past year due to mutual allegations of illegal dumping and other unfair practices.

Wen responded by saying that trade disputes between the two countries should be resolved through negotiation and on an equal footing instead of reverting to sanctions.

He hoped that bilateral trade would develop in a balanced and sustainable fashion and again called on the US government to acknowledge China's market economy status and remove the current limits it places on high-tech exports to China.

Wen concluded the exchange with a pledge to come back next year for a similar online discussion with web users next year.

Links and Sources
Xinhua: English and Chinese
Xinhua: List of Questions (Chinese)