"In cooperation with other ministries, we will take new measures to create employment opportunities for surplus rural workers," said Lin Yongsan, vice-minister of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

Some of these measures may be written into the next Five-Year Plan (2001-2005).

Official figures show that China now has 490 million potential workers in rural areas but only 200 million jobs for them.

Lin and others spoke at a seminar sponsored by the Labor and Social Security Ministry.

The same ministry should strengthen training efforts in rural areas to help more farmers diversify their skills and make them more employable, Lin said.

The training plan is expected to cover all rural laborers who have finished high school or worked part-time in cities.

"The retraining has proven the most efficient way to make farmers upgrade their knowledge and skills to compete in the employment market," Lin said.

In cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Lin's ministry would also accelerate the development of rural enterprises.

He did not mention any specifics but said this development would help rural economies and thereby create jobs.

He indicated that some local labor markets would be established in the next few years. "We want to shape uniform, open and competitive rural labor markets nationwide," said Lin.

Lin said the ministry would also take advantage of the national push to develop central and western China by creating more jobs in those areas.

Liu Jian, vice-minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, said at the seminar that his agency will also join efforts to develop China's interior. "We will co-operate with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to encourage the establishment of rural enterprises," Liu said.

He said the vast surplus workforce could be a big advantage to the region's development.

Both ministries pledged to keep a close eye on rural social welfare, saying more concrete and careful investigations on the issue would be carried out over the next few years.

(China Daily 01/15/2000)