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Fresh spenders in China

(China Daily/Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-11-17 10:56

 

David Wang pops into a Starbucks near his office in Beijing's central business district. Wearing a neat dark blue suit with a gold-colored tie, he picks up a cup of cappuccino in his roughened hand, and sips.

"It's really a sharp contrast between my present life and that of my parents," says Wang. A certified public accountant (CPA) in an American company in Beijing, he enjoys a life of great vicissitudes.

Born into a rural family in east China's Jiangsu province, Wang says his parents are traditional farmers who earn a living by planting rice and fishing in the Taihu Lake. Every summer holiday Wang helped his parents on the farm, which left him with a swarthy face and calloused hands.

Wang studied hard in school and was finally admitted to the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. Fascinated by the capital's skyscrapers, Wang knew he would not return to the two-story wooden home where he was born.

Now 29, he earns more than 200,000 yuan ($29,291) a year by working on initial public offerings for companies looking to list on the stock exchange.

Considering China reported a per capita gross domestic product of $2,042 in 2007, it makes Wang fairly well off. But, he asks not to use his Chinese name, as in China, exposing one's wealth is not wise.

His parents live the same as they have for decades. While they knew their son works in a foreign-funded accounting firm, they are unaware of how the firm makes money.

Wang lives with his fiancee in a two-bedroom apartment he bought two years ago in downtown Beijing. His mortgage will be paid off in three years. The next goal is a China-made Ford Mondeo, worth 200,000 yuan.

"I'm lucky, but others have similar stories," says Wang. "It's a trend."

In developed cities, like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other major metropolitan areas, Wang and his ilk are making a group that has only existed in China since the country's economic makeover began three decades ago.

30 years ago

Thirty years ago, Wang's parents lived in a people's commune, in which everything was collectively owned by the rural members. Workers in factories enjoyed cradle-to-grave welfare. Another group, the intellectuals, including professors in colleges and showfolks, were tied in different organizations. The socialist system left no one outside.

Situations changed as China embraced a policy of opening to the outside world and reform in 1978, when senior leader Deng Xiaoping and his supporters decided to end the class struggle and turn to economic development.

However, the new class has stirred up controversies. Many people believe "middle class" is a lifestyle. They think a middle class family should own at least one apartment and one car, have a golf club membership, and often travel overseas. In other words, it is a lifestyle of the rich.

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