This MG is one of many objects of desire that a Chinese middle-class existence won't get you. (Pedro Simões/Wikimedia Commons)
The term “middle class,” once a foreign concept in an impoverished China, is now used more than ever to describe an emerging power. Helen Wang, author of The Chinese Dream, has estimated that the Chinese middle class has already grown to more than 300 million people. That’s about 25% of the Chinese population—and almost the size of the entire population of the United States.
And there’s room to grow. Earlier this year, a symposium held in Beijing called Global Trends 2030 International Symposium released a report predicting that more than 80% of Chinese will join the middle class by 2030. If that sounds high, it’s worth nothing that a recent Brookings Institution report pegs the number of those in China who “could” be middle class only slightly lower, at around 70%.
The Global trends report has stirred heated discussion on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter. An eye-popping 152 million-plus comments have weighed in on the question, “What is the Chinese middle class?” Most appear skeptical about the estimated figure in the report and the definition of “middle class.”
Experts have their own ideas. As Helen Wang noted in an interview with CNN, a household considered to be middle-class in China earns somewhere between US$10,000 and US$60,000 a year. The interviewer noted that while the lower end of this spectrum puts Chinese wage-earners below the U.S. poverty line, “considering the much lower cost of Chinese life, living standards there aren’t bad at all.”
But this analysis neglects to fully account for rising inflation on almost everything in China over the past five years. Most commenters who would by dint of their income be included among the “Middle Class” expressed doubt about their putative membership.
@周靖蛟shelly, a trend watcher with over 22,000 followers on Weibo, opined: “The fragile middle class: In an economy where the state-owned banks and enterprises are protected, deposit rates are too low to keep up with rising inflation. Behind the large amount of investment is not consumption, but household savings—ordinary household deposits are transferred to the state-run system or to the few hands of the affluent. The middle class is so thrifty and insecure.” {{1}}[[1]]中国，脆弱的中产阶级：在这个偏袒国有银行和国有企业、而非工薪阶层的经济体系中，存款利率被人为压得很低，使其跟不上中国不断上涨的通货膨胀。大量国家投资的背后不是消费，而是家庭储蓄—普通家庭的存款被转移到国有体系或少数富裕阶层手中。中产阶级是如此节俭而缺乏安全感.[[1]]
@腾24 agreed. “Impossible! Middle class people shouldn’t have to worry about basic issues such as house, medical care or education. But many Chinese are still working so hard to meet basic needs. I’m way behind. ”{{2}}[[2]]怎么可能？中产阶级最起码不会担心住房，医疗，教育等事关人民切身利益的事，我，还早呐？中国好多人还在为之奔波.[[2]]
@说话就算数 wrote: “A good salary, a house and car, a good medical system; it’s so hard to reach such a level for 85% of Chinese. Let’s line up to wait for this beautiful dream!”{{3}}[[3]]说话就算数：一定程度的高薪水工资，房车具备，生病也不怕没钱治。 达到这样的水平还真挺难，对于百分之80到85的人来说。 要列入中产阶层我们就一直做梦的等着吧。[[3]]
For most Chinese, “middle class” means more than just a stable income. It means a secure and comfortable life with an affordable home, safe food, and good medical and education systems. Simple as it may seem, that’s a dream many Chinese spend a lifetime fighting for.
According to an article published in 2010 on the People’s Daily website entitled “Chinese Middle Class: Slaves to their Houses, Cars, Bank Cards, and Children,” China’s so-called “middle class” are facing a great deal of pressure: The glamorous yet fragile term “middle class” comes with a salary that can’t keep up with rising real estate, a heavy work load, and uncertainly about the present and future.
An earlier piece on People’s Daily online pointed out “the depression of the Chinese Middle Class”:
“Only through hard work can I be irreplaceable at work, guarantee my apartment, continue paying my car loan; pay for my child’s education and even his/her study abroad in the future, and pay for the high medical expenses of the elderly. Most unfortunate is that the middle class becomes a workaholic and a ‘psychiatric patient’ due to pressure from work and family.”
This pressure is real, and it’s taking its toll. Chinese newspaper Southern Metropolis ran an article called “The Trouble With China’s Middle Class: They Only Look Happy” which describes a 2011 study in which a Chinese sociologist named Lu Xueyi (陆学艺) distributed 2,000 questionnaires in the city of Chengdu, a large city in western China. Although Lu estimated that 25% of China’s population—and 32% to 34% of Chengdu’s population—was middle class, respondents did not seem to agree. Only 14% said they considered themselves middle class, while 56% strongly denied it.
If so many Chinese deny their identity as middle class, then what is “middle class”? Some have come up with their own method to identify a Chinese “middle class,” a set of criteria more ideal than real:
1. Enjoys an annual income of over RMB200,000 (about US$32,000).
2. Owns stocks.
3. Owns an apartment and a car.
4. Enjoys nightlife, usually for business occasions or for a concert.
5. Holds a foreign passport, or at least has stayed in a foreign country for more than three years.
6. Owns at least one Apple product, such as an iPad.
7. Well-presented and with good manners, featuring an American style, but worshipping Europe at heart.
8. Up to date on the latest opera and ballet.
9. Mixes foreign words into Chinese speech.
10. Dresses casual, but looks elegant.
Superficial as this list appears, it offers a glimpse into the mentality of an average Chinese citizen：One who lacks a feeling of material security and shows a craving for Western lifestyle and culture. Huang Xiaobai (@摆渡人Andy), a freelance reporter, wrote emblematically: “It’s not hard to own Apple products, but it’s really difficult to own an apartment in the first tier cities and make 300,000 RMB per year.”{{4}}[[4]]看来我离中产的距离还是很大，有两个苹果产品这个不难，难的是一线城市的房产和30万以上的年薪。[[4]]
Some argue that members of the Chinese middle class are too materialistic, caught in their own trap. Zhang Xu (@迅格格_do4), Chief editor at Chinese Educational Television, wrote, “The middle class and soon-to-be middle class have fallen down at the dawn and outside the threshold. Even though they have a bit of money, most of them are not happy. It seems Chinese people are not accustomed to a happy life, as if they had always been bullied, but there’s no one bullying them. They don’t know what to do with themselves.”{{5}}[[5]]中产阶级和即将中产的阶级倒在了黎明前，摔趴在门槛之外，即使是有点钱的，也大多不幸福，好像中国人不太适应幸福的生活，就像一老受气的人，没人欺负了，反而不知道该如何自处了。似乎只有夹缝中的幸福才是弥足珍贵的。[[5]]
Perhaps that’s why so many members of the Chinese middle class deny their own identity as such, facts and statistics notwithstanding. Constantly striving for more and comparing themselves to others, they find themselves falling short. In a society of great income inequality, that attitude will only lead to frustration and stress–even for those Chinese living in comfort their parents would have found unimaginable.
Perhaps a 1980s Chinese song called “Middle Class” by Zheng Zhihua (郑智化) best describes the ambition and depression of today’s surprisingly unhappy Chinese middle class:
My burden is heavy, my shoulder hurts, I carry my “face” in the crowd;
My vision is a high, my strength is small,
My desires are many, my salary is low,
I often drink cola and eat hamburgers,
But the hunger and emptiness in my heart cannot be filled.{{6}}[[6]]我的包袱很重 我的肩膀很痛 我扛着面子流浪在人群之中; 我的眼光很高 我的力量很小; 我的欲望很多 我的薪水很少; 我常常喝着可乐 我吃着汉堡; 只是心中的空虚 饥渴无法填饱[[6]]
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