China PM urges 'gradual' political reform

BEIJING: Premier Wen Jiabao said Monday China must seek political reform but neither gave proposals nor a timetable for expanding its limited village-level elections, saying it would be a "gradual progress."

"Without political reform, economic reform cannot succeed and the achievements we have made may be lost," Wen told a press conference, repeating comments made last year that prompted rumours of a top-level split over reform.

However, speaking after the close of the country's annual parliament session, Wen made clear that any transition to electoral politics would be made only under the "leadership of the (Communist) party."

"We must pursue a step-by-step approach in this process. We must believe that when the people are capable of running village affairs well, they will also be capable of ... running a township and a county," he said. "That will be a gradual process."

Wen made similar comments promoting political reform last August during a visit to the southern city of Shenzhen.

China allows direct elections for village leaders across the country but the process is tightly controlled by local Communist Party leaders. China's parliamentary chief Wu Bangguo, who is officially number two in the country's hierarchy, outranking Wen, last week ruled out any shift to multi-party democracy.(AFP)