China, what is the annual income that counts as middle class?

June 5438 +2005 10, the National Bureau of Statistics announced a new survey conclusion: "600,000-500,000 yuan is the standard to define the family income of middle-income groups in cities in China (calculated by the average family population of three people)." In China, the "middle class" has a clear numerical definition for the first time. Professor Zhou Xiaohong, Department of Sociology, Nanjing University. From June 2003 to June 2005, his research team conducted this large-scale survey on the middle class in China in big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Wuhan. Zhou Xiaohong believes that the word "middle class" used by the media in reporting this incident is not rigorous, and their investigation of self-identity may reflect more that China's "middle class consciousness" has occupied the mainstream of society at present, that is to say, most China people think they are in the middle of the social structure, but in China people's minds, the words "middle class" and "middle class" are not the same. "White-collar workers in China can call themselves petty bourgeoisie, but they don't agree with the middle class," Zhou Xiaohong told me with a smile. "If you want to say that he is middle-class, he will be anxious with you!" It is said that America is the most typical middle-class country in the world. As early as 1940, Fortune magazine conducted a survey in the United States, and 80% of the respondents thought they belonged to the middle class. However, Richard Longworth, the author of The Crisis of Global Economic Liberalization, pointed out: "Those who call themselves middle class do not necessarily have considerable wealth ... restaurant waiters, factory workers, business executives, stock brokers, etc. They are all loaded with middle class. " Zhou Xiaohong said that most Americans define themselves as middle class, which is related to the definition of "middle class" in American culture to some extent. In the United States, the word "middle class" is synonymous with "ordinary people", which is equivalent to "ordinary people" or "people with average income" in China. It is a huge "middle class" between rich and poor. However, the "middle class" in the eyes of China people is definitely not a person with average income, but an unattainable class, which is almost synonymous with "big money" and "rich people". Although the National Bureau of Statistics of China set the annual household income between 60,000 yuan and 500,000 yuan as the standard for middle-class families last year, many people in China, including those in China, do not agree with this standard. "Family annual income of 60000? If you are a double employee, the average monthly salary is 2500. What kind of middle class is that? ! "This is the" standard "reaction of many interviewees after hearing me quote this standard. The netizen "used to be an educated youth" simply set his own standard on the Internet: "If you have a house but still have a bank loan, I don't think it can be counted as a middle class. If you earn 8000 yuan a month, but rent a house, I don't think it's middle class. The real middle class should have their own property houses, a stable source of income and deposits equivalent to six times their monthly income. Measured by this standard. " Others in China may have different standards, but in any case, the starting point of their "middle-class" families' annual income probably far exceeds the 60,000 mentioned by the National Bureau of Statistics of China. Zhou Xiaohong told me that coincidentally, the starting point for measuring the annual income of middle-class families in the United States is 60,000 pounds. But that's dollars. Maybe China people have a high vision and take the initiative to multiply by 8, which is in line with American standards?