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...

China Lacks More Voices on Global Stage

Not many Chinese are employed at the various UN agencies

It's interesting that even though China has expanded its presence around the world economically, politically, and through emigration (legally or not), the mainland hasn't been able to flex its muscles when it comes to diplomacy.

When one looks at the numbers of Chinese working in international institutions like the United Nations and World Bank, it's at less than 3 percent according to Chinese officials.

For example, only about 200 of the 10,000 people who work at the World Bank's headquarters and country offices are Chinese.

One would think this was strange considering so many mainlanders study abroad.

Niu Dun says Chinese candidates lack professional knowledge

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization employs, 3,200 people around the world, but only about 50 are Chinese, says Niu Dun, China's permanent representative at the agency.

"Over the past three decades, we've never been so deeply engaged in so many global issues as we are now, neither have we been so close to the centre of the world stage," says Niu, a former deputy agriculture minister.

"But no matter how good a policy we have, above all, we need a team to realize our goal... It's an urgent issue and also a long-term task."

He said the main issue was that Chinese candidates lacked professional knowledge.

"Even though someone has some diplomatic experience and speaks a foreign language well, it's very difficult if he is incapable of discussing professional problems," Niu said.

One wonders what he means by "professional". It's a word that's bandied about often in Chinese circles in an attempt to explain the difference between someone qualified and an amateur.

There's also the political factor, as it is highly likely only those with really good guanxi would be allowed to rise in the ranks, and not necessarily well qualified.

Less than 3 percent of World Bank employees are Chinese

A finance ministry source said most of the employees from China at the World Bank were consultants, and few assumed positions at or above the level of director. "For senior positions in intergovernmental institutions we have seen more Chinese faces in recent years, but that was more a result of government intervention," he said.

On the other side of the spectrum, there were about 460,000 Chinese students who studied abroad in 2014, compared with 114,700 a decade earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Education.

However, one cannot assume that just because someone studied abroad makes them an ideal candidate for diplomacy -- and do they want to do that kind job or are they well suited for it?

Nevertheless, China needs to groom its young people -- on propaganda mode or not -- to represent the motherland on the world stage. And wouldn't they take their job seriously if they were given the opportunity to do so?

Or is the government terrified the next generation will not do a good job because they have been educated overseas and thus been polluted with other belief systems too?

It's an intriguing dilemma China is in now, but one that needs to be addressed quickly otherwise the country could be crippled by its own lack of diplomatic skills.