BEIJING -- In a keynote speech to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Hu Jintao said here Monday that China will deepen reform of the income distribution system to reverse the growing income disparity in the country.

"We will increase transfer payments, intensify the regulation of incomes through taxation, break business monopolies, create equal opportunities, and overhaul income distribution practices with a view to gradually reversing the growing income disparity," he told more than 2,000 delegates to the congress.

He stressed that equitable income distribution is an important indication of social equity.

A reasonable and orderly pattern of income distribution will be basically in place, with middle-income people making up the majority and absolute poverty basically eliminated, Hu said.

"Vigorous efforts will be made to raise the income of low- income groups, gradually increase poverty-alleviation aid and the minimum wage, and set up a mechanism of regular pay increases for enterprise employees," Hu said.

He pledged that conditions will be created to enable more citizens to have property income, and the Party will protect lawful incomes, regulate excessively high incomes and ban illegal gains.