Last week, Hu set forward twin economic goals. The first was a doubling of the country's 2010 GDP by the end of the decade -- a figure roughly in line with previous projections. The second goal -- a doubling of per capita income over the same period -- is more notable. State news agencies said it was the first time China's government had issued a goal for individual income.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported China's 2010 per capita income as $4,423. In fact, that figure refers to gross domestic product per capita at current prices.

Mark Thompson in London contributed to this article