Publication Type
Magazine Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
10-2022
Abstract
There are high hopes for China’s middle class. Thanks to their rising disposable income, this group of Chinese is expected to unleash a consumer revolution in the domestic market. However, I argue that the ‘middle class’ as a concept provides at best a partial understanding of the Chinese consumer population; at worst, it can even provide a misleading perspective that brings us to erroneous conclusions about its profile and size. Instead, I propose the notion of ‘three Chinas’ as an alternative way to make sense of China’s consumers. ‘First China’ comprises residents in medium and large-sized cities, ‘Second China’ consists of those living in small cities and towns, and ‘Third China’ refers to those in rural areas.
Discipline
Asian Studies | Sociology of Culture
Research Areas
Sociology
Publication
Asian Management Insights
Volume
9
Issue
2
First Page
46
Last Page
51
ISSN
2315-4284
Publisher
Singapore Management University, Centre for Management Practice
Citation
ZHANG, Qian Forrest, "Looking beyond the 'middle class' for other Chinas" (2022). Research Collection School of Social Sciences. Paper 3648.
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3648
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3648
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://cmp.smu.edu.sg/ami/article/20221020/looking-beyond-middle-class-other-chinas