In his report delivered at the
16th
National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Jiang
Zemin recommended that the proportion of middle-income earners
needs to be raised to help maintain social stability. Not long ago,
at a seminar held in Shenzhen, sponsored by the State Information
Center, participating experts and scholars pointed out that 200
million Chinese people will join the ranks of the "middle class"
consumer group over the next five years.
"Middle class" on the Chinese mainland refers to the group of
people with stable incomes, capable of purchasing private houses
and cars, and can afford the costs of education and holidays. They
are regarded as "a group which is tired in body, while in mind
fastidious about the quality of life."
Experts list the typical expenses of China's "middle class" by
taking a characteristic young family as their base: 1,500-5,000
yuan (US$181.2-603.9) for food and beverage per month, 600-1,500
yuan (US$72.5-181.2) for medical insurance, 300-5,000 yuan
(US$36.2-603.9) for education, 500-1,000 yuan (US$60.4-120.8) for
communication and transportation, 1,000-5,000 yuan (US$120.8-603.9)
for clothes and beauty treatment, and 600-3,500 yuan
(US$72.5-422.7) for sports and entertainment activities.
In
short, a typical young family needs to earn at least 10,000 yuan
(US$1,207.7) per month if they want to lead a standard "middle
class" life. For a mid-level middle class family, the couple needs
to earn 20,000 yuan (US$2,415.5) per month, while 40,000 yuan
(US$4,830.9) constitutes an upper middle class family.
Economists and sociologists have made a specific analysis and
clearly defined what they believe will compose the Chinese "middle
class" of the future. They suppose five categories of people will
represent the new middle class: scientific development
entrepreneurs; Chinese managerial staff working in foreign firms in
China; middle and high-level managerial staff in state-owned
financial institutions; professional technicians in various fields
especially in intermediary firms; and some self-employed private
entrepreneurs.
Since China's entry to the World Trade Organization, the
compensation for a range of talented people has generally risen by
a considerable margin, especially for people working in high-tech
industries. Experts estimate that people with high level skills in
international finance and trade, the IT industry, medical and
biological industries and foreign languages will be in great
demand. As a result, the price of talent will certainly soar.
Moreover, the differences in levels of compensation will continue
to grow for people with similar levels of education but who work in
different professions or have different capabilities.
Economists predict that the population of middle class in China's
big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen where
the economy is developing rapidly, will increase with geometrical
progression in one to two decades, forming a mainstream social
group not to be ignored.
(china.org.cn translated by Zhang Tingting, December 10, 2002)
