3 challenges for China's leaders

STORY HIGHLIGHTSCNN asked experts to explain biggest challenges facing ChinaExperts: Economic disparity, gender imbalance, water and food security are big issuesDelegates are meeting for National People's Congress in BeijingXi Jinping to formally become Chinese president at end of congress

Hong Kong (CNN) -- Four months after hushed deal-broking produced a new leadership lineup for China, Xi Jinping is to set to formally take charge of the country he'll rule for the next 10 years.

Xi, along with new premier Li Keqiang, has inherited a supercharged economy that's created vast riches for some, a growing middle class, and many poorer migrant workers who are becoming increasingly frustrated with their lot in life.

But the deepening wealth divide isn't the only challenge facing the country's population of 1.3 billion people.

In November, as China was convening its 18th National Communist Party Congress, CNN asked a number of China experts to define what they believe to be the country's most pressing challenges. We revisit their thoughts four months on, as delegates attend the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing.

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1. Closing the wealth gap

In February, the Chinese government announced plan to raise spending on social welfare by two percentage points within the next five years.

Economist Li Gan says that's nowhere near enough to narrow the wealth gap and argues that the country needs to work on a "much larger scale."

"If the government creates a stronger social safety net for its citizens, Chinese workers will feel less pressure to save for health emergencies, unemployment and retirement, and more likely to buy goods and services -- and create a mature consumer-driven economy," he says.

Gan explains his views here.

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