An authoritative report from China's middle-class: China Middle Class Survey

Author: Chen Guanren, Yi Yang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-10-01
Features: The middle class is a new stratum in today's Chinese society and will become the mainstream population of the upcoming moderately prosperous society. Who exactly are the middle class? How did they become middle class? What changes and impacts are their formation and development bringing, or will bring, to our society and lives? The term "middle class" was once a source of apprehension but has now become an alluring topic. It is linked to international buzzwords like SOHU, CEO, CBD, and TOWNHOUSE, and forms a cutting-edge lifestyle landscape with refined pursuits such as white-collar workers, golden-collar workers, luxury villas, cars, and designer fashion. It represents a trend, a way of life, a symbol of affluence, and a synonym for high taste. The struggles and lifestyles of the middle class, as well as the opportunities and challenges they face, reflect our society and our individual futures. In the grand and tumultuous journey of reform and opening up and the great march toward modernization, China's middle class has emerged as a new social group, visibly appearing. The 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China explicitly proposed expanding the proportion of the middle-income group, undoubtedly encouraging the growth and development of the middle-class ranks. However, the construction of a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way means that the majority of people will step into the middle class, entering an era of prosperity and civilization. This requires a majority of the population in the country to become middle class. Therefore, China's middle class will develop rapidly, and the majority becoming middle class will no longer be a distant dream! Yet, entering the middle-class society requires efforts and struggles from the national, individual, policy, action, technological, objective, and subjective levels. To this end, we have organized a group of renowned domestic experts and scholars who, after repeated investigations and interviews, conducted analysis and research over more than six months, ultimately completed the book China's Middle Class Survey, hoping to advance China's entry into the middle-class society.