China’s army of migrant workers waits for Xi Jinping’s ‘common prosperity’ to touch their lives
- China’s dazzling growth since opening up four decades ago has raised living standards but also created a wide wealth gap, made worse by the pandemic
- Migrant workers hope the president’s vision of a ‘well-off’ society will finally end miseries caused by exclusion from the urban social security system
This is the first part of a series of stories on China’s new push on “common prosperity”. Here, Jane Cai looks at the rise in inequality and the plight of people left behind.
Threading his tricycle through the narrow alleys of downtown Beijing on a crisp October morning, Zhang Suning shivers a little. The worn jacket he has on struggles to keep out the autumn chill as the 54-year-old migrant worker starts his daily round collecting cardboard, bottles and other waste from households.
Next stop, garbage recycling companies – where he will sell the items to earn roughly 3,000 yuan (US$470) a month.
Zhang came to Beijing from Anhui province in the country’s southeast more than two decades ago. Since then, China’s economy has grown more than tenfold in terms of gross domestic product. But for Zhang, life has not become easier.
“My income doubled, but living costs rose faster,” said Zhang, who lives with his wife, also a waste collector, and unemployed son.
Home is a 6 square metre flat (64.5 square feet), for a monthly rent of 1,500 yuan (US$235).