The goal was raised by the State Development Planning Commission in a plan focused on employment and social security which was issued Monday in Beijing.

According to the plan, up to 40 million surplus rural labourers are to be employed.

The ratio of agriculture to manufacturing to service will be set to 44:23:33.

The ambitious plan is to be realized through urbanization and the development of the west.

An efficient labour market, with more flexibility, will also be established.

By the end of the Ninth Five-year Plan (1996-2000), China's employed population hit 712 million.

Fifty per cent of laid-off workers from State-owned enterprises had been re-employed.

The registered unemployment rate fell to 3.1 per cent.

And about 30 million rural labourers had been transferred to non-agricultural sectors.

The plan predicts that China's pending entry into the World Trade Organization and the speeding-up of the structural re-adjustment of industries will increase employment pressures during the next five years.

It is estimated that every year roughly 5 to 6 million new labourers will be registered, in addition to the current 150 million surplus rural labourers.

The plan also suggests that further reforms, economic restructuring and the ageing population will create tougher challenges for China's social security system.

China became an ageing nation last year, and the trend will accelerate in the coming years, according to the plan.

In 2005, people above the age 60 will account for 10.5 per cent of the total population. In 2050, the proportion will rise to 28 per cent.

In addition, there is a paucity of social security funds.

And the management of social security funds is not up to standards.

During the 10th Five-year Plan, China will increase the pace of improvements to its social security system.

To this end, China will establish standards for the collection and management of the social security fund, and assign responsibility for the efficient implementation of these policies.

Measures also include readjusting the government's budget and increasing the proportion of non-governmental financial inputs