China’s “Wealth Drain” – New Signs That Rich Chinese Are Set on Emigrating

More than half of wealthy Chinese, those with assets of more than 10 million yuan, hope to emigrate, according to a 2011 Private Wealth Report on China, published by China Merchants Bank and the consulting firm Bain & Company, as reported by Worldcrunch. In another survey, 12 percent of Chinese described themselves as “thriving” and 71 percent as “struggling.” Underlying goals of wealthy emigrants include a better education for children, tax avoidance, and less corruption in government and business. “It is a paradox that, in a country where more and more people are getting richer by the day – albeit to the detriment of the poor, who have benefitted very little from the country’s new wealth – the general feeling of well-being should remain at rock-bottom,” writes Xin Haiguang for Worldcrunch. Rising inequality contributes to resentment and calls for redistribution of wealth, trends that hasten wealth’s exit and signal a society with intractable challenges. – YaleGlobal