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Middle class standard rebuked

By Echo Shan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-11-13 14:43

A recent lifestyle survey conducted by a subordinate body of the National
Bureau of Statistics has ranked everyone with a monthly salary of 2,000
yuan or above as China's new-middle class.

Hinted by a China National Research Center (CNRC), the definition of
China's new-middle class is widely considered authority, given its NBS
background.

The CNRC launched a nationwide survey on September 22 in a bid to get a
close-up on the lifestyle and consumption habits of China's new-middle
class.

The questionnaire covered items such as travel, vehicle ownership, brand
preference, and personal financing and was given to urbanites that earn
at least 2,000 yuan per month in China's top metropolises, such as
Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.

For less advanced cities, the middle class entrance bar was set at 1,500
yuan a month.

However, 70 per cent of all respondents to the survey from 47 cities
across the country earned nearly double the modest threshold of 2,000
yuan,.

Sixty per cent of those polled hold a bachelor's degree. More than 70 per
cent prefer traveling during paid holidays rather than during Golden Week.

Urbanites working in diverse white-collar professions make up the
majority of China's new middle class.

Civil servants, lawyers, accountants, freelancers, entertainers, medical
workers, teachers, athletes, and reporters also made the list.

Full time housewives are shown full respect, jumping to the neo-middle
class club as a profession. While many wonder how can a housewife be
deemed a profession if she is not making a salary.

CNRC secretary general Zhang Zhongliang said the study set out six
criteria to determine middle class status: education, salary, profession,
societal influence, savings and holidays. .

Some netizens had issues with the CNRC's definition of middle class. "One
can only just survive in Beijing making 2,000 yuan a month," wrote a
netizen on sina.com, one of China's major news portals.

A netizen named 'mockingbird' wrote on sina.com that nearly everyone in
Shanghai would be classified as middle class, according to the CNRC's low
standard.

In response to these queries Zhang said that monthly salary was not the
only standard the CNRC used to define the new middle class in China, but
offered no further details.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)

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