中國國統局：6億人收入平均1000元 反映國情不平衡發展
https://www.mpfinance.com/fin/instantf2....e=20200615
中國國務院總理李克強在5月底的兩會記者會表示，有6億人月均收入僅1000元，引起社會討論中國今年能否完成全面脫貧的目標。國家統計局新聞發言人付凌暉在記者會解釋，按照住戶收支調查，去年低收入和中間偏下收入家庭戶人口為6.1億人，月人均收入近1000元，低收入組戶月人均收入低於1000元，中間偏下收入組戶月人均收入高於1000元。
付凌暉表示，全國家庭戶樣本可以低收入組、中間偏下收入組、中間收入組、中間偏上收入組、高收入組，各組佔20%。其中，低收入組和中間偏下收入組戶數佔全部戶數比重為40%，對應的人口為6.1億人。
付凌暉指出，數據反映了中國社會主要矛盾是人民日益增長的美好生活需要和不平衡不充分發展之間的矛盾。廣大農村和中西部地區相當一部分居民收入水平依然偏低，脫貧攻堅和鄉村振興任務十分繁重。隨著中國經濟持續發展，將會有越來越多的低收入和中間偏下收入群體轉化為中等收入群體。
月初官媒亦曾為「6億人平均收入1000元」說法解話，中國《經濟日報》收入分配領域專家李實表示，數據是平均數字，部分收入高於1000元的，也有低於1000元。另外，6億人也包括無就業、無收入的人口，如老人、兒童、學生等被贍養人口，因此當中會有部分人收入會高於1000元相當幅度，也會有部分甚至低出相當幅度。
China confirms more than 40 per cent of population survived on just US$141 per month in 2019
https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-econo...just-us141
Last year, the bottom 40 per cent of Chinese households ranked by income, totalling more than 600 million people, had a per capita disposable income of 11,485 yuan (US$1,621)
The data confirmed the surprising claim made by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the end of the National People’s Congress in May
China faces outcry after premier admits 40% of population struggles
https://www.ft.com/content/6e248944-8395...6e4ee40eee
China is facing a public outcry over its claim that Beijing had “basically won” the war against poverty after Premier Li Keqiang admitted that more than two-fifths of the population made less than $140 a month.
A week after Mr Li announced the figure, saying it was “hardly enough” to rent a home in a big city, academics and netizens raced to question Beijing’s pledge to eradicate poverty by the end of this year.
“Given the current price level, the premier is suggesting 600m Chinese people are having trouble maintaining a basic living standard,” said a Beijing-based policy adviser, who declined to be named. “The poverty relief [campaign] needs to carry on.”
The backlash has raised questions about whether Beijing could meet one of its biggest policy goals even though President Xi Jinping said in March that China had made “decisive achievements in eliminating poverty”.
“We have almost met our goal and have basically eradicated poverty on a regional level,” he said.
If these 600m people can’t make ends meet, the rest of the Chinese population won’t live an easy life
Weibo comment
Users on microblogging site Weibo said Mr Li’s figures were concerning.
“The growing income gap is the biggest loophole in the Chinese system. The huge and still growing low-income class . . . suggests there’s a problem with China’s [political] power system,” said one commentator.
Another warned: “If these 600m people can’t make ends meet, the rest of the Chinese population won’t live an easy life.”
Official data show that the number of Chinese living in poverty fell to 5.5m last year from 99m in 2012. Industrialised provinces have achieved even greater success. Jiangsu, one of the nation’s richest provinces, reported just 17 people living in extreme poverty in January.
The vast improvement, however, has been met with scepticism because China’s definition of poverty is different from international standards. More than a dozen provinces define poverty as per capita income of less than Rmb3,500 ($500) a year. That compares with more than Rmb4,800 set by the World Bank.
“China has set such a high threshold for poverty that it ends up downplaying the problem,” said Wang Jun, an analyst at China Center for International Economic Exchange, a government think-tank.
Mr Li’s poverty threshold, according to analysts, has more practical implications because China’s rural to urban migration is still growing.
Li Jinlong, a professor at Hunan University and an expert in poverty relief, said the premier had understated the problem. The bulk of China’s 550m rural population and a significant proportion of urban residents, he said, were barely making ends meet.
“There is no way rural residents could get out of poverty when they cannot find a profitable industry to work in,” said Prof Li.
While many migrant workers report higher income after landing jobs in cities, the absence of a social safety net has taken a toll on their economic wellbeing.
Many rural workers have little access to urban benefits such as healthcare and education even after spending many years in the city because of China’s hukou system, or household registration.
Most cities are reluctant to issue hukou to rural workers, especially unskilled ones, because they add pressure to social services. That has forced many to return to the countryside where income prospects are poor.
A growing number of farmers have given up even attempting to climb up the income ladder.
Near the central city of Huangshi, Li Jianguo, a 43-year-old migrant worker turned farmer, said he was comfortable living off a 0.4 hectare of paddy field from which he makes a yearly profit of Rmb7,800.
“I have neither skills nor capital to boost my income,” said Mr Li. “I need to work with what I have.”
