Defining China's evolving middle class
By Benjamin Robertson in Beijing
Thursday 29 April 2004, 18:59 Makka Time, 15:59 GMT
...
Definitions
Announced on the government run Xinhua news agency, the report decreed that 19% of China’s population could now be considered middle-class; a term that was ideologically taboo 15 years ago is now championed as a symbol of national modernity.
Defined through a family’s total asset valuation of $18,750 to $37,500, the announcement was accompanied by the announcement that China’s middle-class had grown by one per cent every year since 1999.
Potentially sweet news for the ears of foreign investors looking to sell their goods, Xinhua predicted that "thanks to favourable policies" the number of middle class people would rise to 40% by 2020.
However, while international news reports trended to focus on the 19% figure, little consideration was given to a report released in late January by CASS professor, Li Chunling.
Urban incomes are five to six
times higher than rural ones
The CASS report used a wider range of categories including occupation, living standards, income and the individual’s subjective opinion.
Chunling surveyed 5860 people from across society and concluded that China’s middle-class numbered only about four per cent of the population.
Unwilling to be interviewed, it was unclear whether Li Chunling’s report was the same as the one cited by Xinhua.
In her report, the section concerning income gives no income-bracket figures but she calculates that from income alone, 24.6% of those surveyed could be considered middle-class.
Some estimates have calculated average urban incomes to be five to six times higher than rural ones.
english.aljazeera.net |
