Who's Middle Class in China?

What is the definition of middle income? Many feel they are scraping by

The Chinese government wants its citizens to think their lowly salaries are a sign of increasing social status, but many beg to differ.

Last Friday the National Bureau of Statistics issued a report on how different income groups spend their time in China. It said people who earned under 2,000 yuan (US$295) a month were in the "low income" category; those on salaries of 2,000 to 5,000 yuan (US$295-US$740) a month were "middle income", while a "relatively high" monthly income was 5,000 to 10,000 yuan (US$740-US$1,480).

Anyone earning more than 10,000 yuan per month was in the "high income" group.

How many families in China are enjoying life like this one?

But many people online were in disbelief by this definition, because even though they were described as "middle income", they were barely scraping by.

The response forced the statistics bureau to clarify that the middle-income definition applied only to the report. "The term 'middle-income group' mentioned in the survey has nothing to do with the income brackets in the general sense," the statement said.

While the World Bank ranks China as an "upper middle income" country with a GDP per capita of US$8,827 in 2017, ranked 73rd in the world, Beijing has never given an official definition of middle income.

"A typical family of three, for example, might have an annual income of 100,000 to 500,000 yuan. There are 400 million people, or 140 million households -- [in that income bracket] who has the means to buy a car, a flat, or go traveling," said statistics bureau chief Ning Jizhe on Monday.

But many say that despite fitting into that income bracket range, they are still struggling to make ends meet.

Guess this family doesn't worry about making ends meet

Wang Xiaoyi, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences wrote an article about it in the Beijing Youth Daily earlier this month.

"The middle-income group, especially those who are young, don't see themselves as such even though their income has reached a certain level. People who are not on low incomes also feel the pressure of living costs -- they're not enjoying the good life. It's as important to boost their sense of achievement as it is to lift people out of poverty."

Welcome to the rat race...