A recent study by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences reveals the different salary categorisations being used across China to define the term “white collar.” Substantial pay differentials across this vast nations mean that a monthly salary of RMB900 officially categorises a person as having a white collar job in Lhasa, Tibet, while RMB18,500 is needed for a similar pidgeon-holing in Hong Kong.
In Beijing, the ‘white collar’ threshold is RMB5,000, in Shanghai
RMB5,350 and in Macao RMB8,900. In Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region, the figure is RMB 1,300.
The Academy findings are reportedly based on a basket of localised
commodity prices, including living expenses, transportation costs and
urbanisation levels. However, the validity of the figures was
questioned by state-owned China Daily newspaper, which argued that
people living in more affluent cities like Beijing or Shanghai often
have additional drains on their personal finances, such as mortgage
bank loans.
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