Reform is the only way to tackle China's economic inequality and to increase the number of middle-income earners, economists and officials said at a recent forum on reform and development in Haikou, Hainan province.

"To achieve this goal, reform is the key. If substantial progress were made in reform, the following decade could see a moderate annual growth of 7 to 8 percent," said Gao Shangquan, honorary president of the China Society of Economic Reform, and a prominent policy adviser.

If the opportunity to reform were to be missed, China could fall into the middle-income trap, Gao warned, adding that "greater political guts and wisdom" were needed to further the reform.