Economics

China’s Wide Income Gap Undercut Spending as Growth Recovers

  • Richest households earn more than 10 times income of poor
  • Consumer spending has returned to growth, but remains subdued

Shoppers in the Sanyuanli market in Beijing.

Photographer: Giulia Marchi/Bloomberg
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China’s successful control of Covid-19 made it the only major economy to have grown last year, but wide income inequality and still weak consumer spending reflects an unbalanced recovery.