BEIJING -- China's top lawmaker said Tuesday that legislative priorities this year would focus on improving social security and fostering more equitable economic development, but he rejected calls to open up the political system.

Uneven economic growth, skyrocketing home prices, limited and expensive medical care, and sparse pension plans have raised huge concerns in China about social stability and provoked widespread discontent.

In prepared remarks to be delivered to the Chinese legislature, or National People's Congress --whose annual session ends Sunday --Wu Bangguo said delegates would put the final touches on a draft social security law and make adjustments to the legal system to "dispel the people's worries and better maintain social harmony and stability."

The social security law broadly aims to establish a safety net of pension, health care and unemployment benefits, provide free primary and secondary education, and assist the migration of rural residents to cities.

There were no specific details in an advance copy of Wu's speech, but the changes are believed to include more support for lower-income Chinese, many who have been left behind by China's rapid economic growth over the last three decades.

Wu's speech comes midway through the legislative session. Most of the business of the congress is handed by standing committees that meet year-round.

The nearly 3,000 delegates meet once a year to approve decisions already made at the top levels of the ruling Communist Party. Wu, despite some calls for reforms to strengthen the congress's powers, indicated there would be no changes toward a more open system.

The congress has "reached a thorough understanding of the essential differences between our country's system of People's Congresses and Western capitalist countries' systems of political power," he said.

Wu said the congress would focus on fighting climate change, and improving the functions of the government.

In particular, Wu said the congress will pay close attention to efforts to accelerate economic and social development in Tibet, the vast western region of Xinjiang and other ethnic minority areas.

Tibet was hit by violent anti-government riots two years ago, and ethnic riots in July left nearly 200 dead in the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi.

China's rulers are also pouring money into rural areas. The urban-rural wealth gap has widened in recent years and countryside residents earn incomes that are on average just one-third of urban ones. Schools, hospitals, recreational facilities and government services lag far behind those in the cities.