While the middle class in the US, for example, seems to be under great pressure, in China it goes from strength to strength. It is now projected to be 40% of the population by 2020, according a report from the Social Sciences Academic Press and Shanghai Academy of Social Science. This means it will have doubled in size since 2000.

GDP in Beijing and Shanghai grew 8% and 8.2% respectively in 2011, which, amazingly enough, was lower than most other cities. Tu Qiyu, from Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, suggested that this was down to their high level of openness and internationalization. The more these are developed, the more vulnerable a city will be to international financial crises.

However, this report shows again the great strides being made in China’s economy, and perhaps too its success in moving away from low-skill, low-value manufacturing. Also, once someone has reached the degree of disposable income signaled by middle class status, they are then freer to spend on consumer goodies as they see fit. The domestic consumer market, so long desired by companies around the world, might at long last be coming into fruition.

(Source: Shanghaiist).