Beijing: Even as China is bracing for a baby boom in 2007, which is also auspicious due to the Year of the Pig in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, Premier Wen Jiabao has said that the government will adhere to the basic policy of family planning.

The Chinese government will adhere to the basic policy of family planning with improved services and stronger leadership, Wen said.

Family planning was crucial to China's modernisation and the building of a harmonious society, Wen told a national conference on population and family planning which concluded yesterday.

The Chinese Premier stressed that the priority and the most difficult task of family planning was in the countryside, where maintaining a low birth rate was crucial. He also called for extended coverage of rewards and subsidies for rural people.

The administration and service, Jiabao said, should be improved to grant subsidies and social insurance in encouraging birth control, and more needy families should be covered by social assistance schemes.

Family planning among migrant workers needed to be strengthened as well, he added.

State Councillor Hua Jianmin said local governments should give the same free birth control services to migrant workers as they give to local residents.