China's Middle Class Emerges, to Spend More

Chinese consumption, largely driven by the middle class, will account for US$6.2 trillion, just under a quarter of the US$26 trillion of additional global consumption in the years up to 2025, according to McKinsey & Co.

This is more than the three next BRICS countries combined with India contributing an extra US$2.5 trillion, Brazil US$1.4 trillion and Russia US$770 billion.

Karl Gerth, author of As China Goes, So Goes The World: How Chinese Consumers are Transforming Everything and lecturer in Modern Chinese History at Oxford University, said every company in the world now has to have a strategy for the Chinese middle class.

"They certainly better have or if not, have an incredibly good justification for their shareholders," he said.

But who is this middle class that is so significant to the world and also in transforming China from an export and investment-led economy to a consumption one?

Is it different in its makeup to that in Europe or the United States, where there are also markedly different interpretations of the term either side of the Atlantic.

And also what makes them tick, what are their desires and aspirations and how do these differ from those in other countries?

In this issue, we look at the middle class attitudes toward and demand for healthcare, education, overseas travel, cars and home improvement products as well as fine dining, movies, luxury goods, financial services and online shopping.