China Demograghic

In many ways China shows many developed market trends. An ageing population. A slowing birth-rate. Shrinking household size. Improving educational profile. And increasing household, and hence because of declining household size, rising personal income.

Behind these similarities are three important discriminators between China and other developed markets.

Firstly, the economic growth is off an extremely low base. The majority of the Chinese population remains comparatively poor. And hence highly price sensitive.
Secondly, China remains a rural oriented market. By the year 2010 only 42% of the Chinese population will be living in urban environments. And this movement to the cities is focused on a few key metropolis. One thus finds wealth concentrated in a few key regions rather than, as is evidenced in other developed markets, more widely distributed across the nation. Key regions in China are Guangdong (43% of households earning over RMB34,000/annum), Shanghai (...