Middle
class on rise in China: survey
BEIJING, Sep 5 -- The size of the middle class in
China has grown to include 11.9 percent of all employees in the country,
according to a recent survey.
China
Youth Daily reported on Friday that Social Sciences Academic Press in
Beijing has published the results of a survey on the middle class in
China.
Professor
Zhou Xiaohong, Department Chair of Sociology Studies at Nanjing University,
led a research group called the Social Changes in China and the Urban
Middle Class Growth. The researchers surveyed 3028 people, selected at
random, from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Wuhan.
The
study group's definition of "middle class" was a person with a
monthly income of 5000 Yuan, or about 617 US dollars; with a bachelor
degree or above; and who works as a civil servant, company manager,
technician or private business owner.
Professor
Zhou Xiaohong estimates that the true figure could be anywhere from 11
percent to 19 percent of the population, but could not be more than 20
percent.
The
survey also shows what the general public think is the definition of being
middle class. When people think of the middle class, they think of the
owners of private business, managers of state-run enterprises, civil
servants, administrators, and technicians.
On
the subject of wealth, more than 30% of the interviewees said they were
not sure how much money a person should have to be considered middle
class, while 21% thought the total wealth of a member of the middle class
should be half a million Yuan (61,700 UD dollars), and 19% thought it
should be in excess of one million Yuan.
Zhang
Wanli, an associate research fellow from the China Academy of Social
Sciences, believes that China's middle class has grown to 13-15% of
employees since the late 1990s, taking into account general knowledge,
prestige of career, type of work, income, expenditure and social
influence. Zhang Wanli said that when the middle class population grows to
30% in China, which is an ideal ratio, they could become a driving force
for social modernization, stability, strong social values and high levels
of consumption.
Source:crienglish.com