Latest News:  

English>>China Society

Will rural residents become middle-class?

(Xinhua)

08:23, January 17, 2013

(Photo/Xinhua)

CHANGCHUN, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Wang Zhiren, a farmer in the agricultural province of Jilin, does not know what the word "middle-class" means. However, Wang's life is typically middle-class: he lives in a three-bedroom house with a garage, drives a sedan and shops in urban department stores.

Wang's family earned 100,000 yuan (16,090 U.S. dollars) last year from growing rice on dozens of hectares of land in northeast China.

Many hope that emerging rural consumers, such as Wang, will unleash their purchasing power like urbanites did during the last decade, as China is in urgent need of shifting its economic driving force from investment to consumption.

The income gap between urban and rural residents narrowed in the past few years, bringing down the urban-rural earning ratio to 3.13 in 2011 from the 2009 reading of 3.33.

Twenty-nine out of 31 provincial-level governments said income growth of their rural residents surpassed that of urban dwellers for the Jan.-Sept. period last year, official data showed.

China held its annual Central Rural Work Conference in December, one month after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) elected its new leadership.

Agriculture Minister Han Changfu told Xinhua that the conference pledged to put more efforts in boosting farmers' earnings in the "income doubling program" promised during the 18th CPC national congress.

The five-yearly congress adopted a resolution saying by 2020, the country's per capita income should be double that of 2010.


【1】 【2】



We Recommend:

2012 year in review: Steps of growth

2012 year in review: Say goodbye

2012 in review: Questions on responsibility

China’s weekly story (2012.12.27-2013.1.4)

New Year Wishes from left-behind children

Kazak's wonderful falcon game in Xinjiang

Food is the paramount necessity of life

Dense fog causes serious air pollution

Twisted, ugly ‘Tower of Large Intestine’ found

Email|Print|Comments(Editor:黄瑾、陈丽丹)

Leave your comment0 comments

  1. Name

  

Selections for you


  1. Lanzhou MAC in actual-combat drill

  2. Submarine flotilla in routine training

  3. What is behind the weather extremes?

  4. Migrant workers start journey home early

  5. Who has stolen our air quality?

  6. Killer's girlfriend on trial for helping lover

  7. 'La Traviata' staged in Shanghai

  8. Laboleng Temple getting facelift

  9. Superhero Washers Cheer Up Children

  10. Japanese crazy for blood types

Most Popular

Opinions

  1. Taxi drivers' plight leaves passengers out in the cold
  2. China Voice: Living better or living green?
  3. Families of migrant workers are least happy in 2012
  4. Japan’s hopes to contain China laughable
  5. Sino-Indian ties
  6. Li pledges measures in fight for clean air
  7. A competent ‘general’ is also a good ‘platoon leader’
  8. Highlighting the skills you need in a changing China
  9. Will there be another Liu Xiang in China?
  10. Heavy smog reveals generation gap

What’s happening in China

'Sister House' case urges efforts in combating corruption in affordable housing

  1. 'Family feud dramas' concern TV viewers
  2. Corruption curbs crimp luxury market
  3. Pollution triggers breathing woes
  4. China's rich prefer to give Louis Vuitton
  5. Beijing leads nation on rich list