Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, December 06, 2002
China's Per-Capita GDP Surpasses US$800
By the end of 2001, China's per-capita GDP had surpassed US$800, marking an initial affluent life in the general living standards of the Chinese people, stated the 2002 white paper on the nation's retail industry published by the China General Chamber of Commerce, December 5.
By the end of 2001, China's per-capita GDP had surpassed US$800, marking an initial affluent life in the general living standards of the Chinese people, stated the 2002 white paper on the nation's retail industry published by the China General Chamber of Commerce, December 5.
To illustrate this, the white paper said, urban residents' consumption pattern has been upgraded. They are marching toward super-quality and high-grade products in their consumption of food, clothing, shelter and other daily necessities, for instance, spending money on health, knowledge, time, and fashion has become their new consumption concept and pursuit.
Decline in the proportion of expenditure on food is a major indication of the improved consumption pattern. By the end of 2001, Engel's coefficient of urban residents had dropped to 37.9 percent from the 46.4 percent in 1997.
The per-capita expenditure of urban households in 2001 reached 5309.1 yuan, up 6.2 percent over the previous year. The first three fastest growth items were: transportation and communication, up 15.7 percent; entertainment, education and cultural services, up 9.9 percent; and housing, up 9.3 percent.
The white paper points out, the new growth points of China's consumption market are expressed mainly in the following four aspects: (1) holiday travel (2) house purchasing and the accompanying decoration and refitting, furniture and home appliances; (3) communication and electronic products; and (4) expenditure on cars.