The Chinese government is to target education, improvements to the labor and capital markets to ensure qualified workers and capital, technological innovation and environment in its spending, a seminar was told on Tuesday.

Lou Jiwei, Deputy Minister of Finance, told a seminar on public finance and a harmonious society that China's fast and sustainable economic development in the medium and long term would be decided by four major factors, including sufficient supplies of qualified workers and capital, technological innovation, and the capability resources and environment to sustain rapid economic development.

The government's budget would give top priority to those factors to ensure sustainable economic development, which served as the material foundation for a harmonious society proposed by the government in 2004, said Lou.

A harmonious society was also characterized by democracy and rule of law, equity, justice, honesty, love, vigor and order and harmony between man and nature, he said.

China has increased dramatically its public funding in education, training, science, capital markets and environmental and ecological protection in recent years in a bid to sustain its rapid economic development.

The concept of building a harmonious society was proposed by policy makers amid worsening environmental degradation and widening gap between the rich and the poor in recent years.

(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2006)