MOST Chinese will attain a 'modestly comfortable living standard' before 2000, government statistics show.
The prediction was based on the Engels Index, which compares family incomes to the cost of basic necessities like food and clothing.
The Hong Kong China News Agency yesterday cited government figures which said the Engels Index for urban Chinese had dropped to 49.9 per cent, while the rating for rural residents had fallen to 58.8 per cent.
A 60 per cent index figure puts people below the poverty line, while between 50 and 60 per cent qualifies as 'marginal sufficiency'.
A modestly comfortable standard of living is defined as between 40 and 50 per cent. Any rating below 40 per cent is well-to-do or wealthy.
The news agency report said the statistics showed that most urban Chinese now earned much more than they did four years ago.
