Nearly one fifth of China's population is middle class
BEIJING: Nearly one fifth of China's population of 1.3 billion is classified as being middle class, according to state media.
At the end of 2003, 19 percent of all Chinese were characterized as middle class, up from 15 percent in 1999, the Xinhua news agency said, citing the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the nation's top think tank.
"Prices on property and food are low in China," said Andy Xie, China economist with Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong. "This is why so many people fit into the category in China."
The figure was based on the academy's standard, which counts a person as a member of the middle classes if his family has assets of between 150,000 and 300,000 yuan (18,000 and 36,000 dollars), Xinhua said.
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"The figure is useful (for foreign companies), because they can sell their products to these people -- but they have to sell at Chinese prices," said Xie of Morgan Stanley.
channelnewsasia.com
channelnewsasia.com
a shopping mall in Beijing |
