BEIJING, March 14: China's parliament amended the constitution on Sunday to protect private property, a landmark move in the Communist ideology of the world's most populous nation.

But Premier Wen Jiabao, a populist and cautious reformer, has not forgotten the roots of the party, which was once the vanguard of the proletariat but now tries to be everything to everyone.

More than 99 per cent of 2,896 delegates to the National People's Congress approved Wen's work report - his first since taking office last March - in which he championed workers and peasants. "The Communist Party wants to represent everybody," Chinese political commentator Wu Jiaxiang said.

Five decades after sweeping to power, a period during which private property has been nationalized and campaigns have been waged against landlords, China's parliament amended the constitution to add the clause: "Private property obtained legally is inviolable."

The constitution, changed for the fourth time since its adoption in 1982, put private property on an equal footing with public property - a key plan to sustain economic growth.

Legislators approved the package of amendments with a vote of 2,863 in favour, 10 against and 17 abstentions. "It's significant for a socialist regime that says it's still socialist or Communist to recognize more than before the role of the private economy in its development," a Western diplomat said.

"It's significant that they decided to say that private property is as legitimate as public ownership," he said. "It's in a way recognizing that exploitation is good. It's a big step."

Warning of a widening wealth gap that Beijing fears could spark social unrest, Wen outlined in his March 5 annual address steps to scrap farm taxes and boost subsidies in rural areas - home to 800 million people.

He also pledged to create nine million new urban jobs and re-employ five million workers laid off from state firms that are struggling to stay in business as the private sector blossoms.

Parliament also approved the work report of Finance Minister Jin Renqing, in which he forecast a $38.6 billion budget deficit in 2004, the same as last year's record shortfall. -Reuters