Monitor | China now reaching the same levels of inequality as Johannesburg
The mainland's wealth gap has widened in the past decades to levels seen in South Africa, where shanty towns border gleaming office blocks
The Johannesburg suburb of Sandton is a real eye-opener. Known among property agents as "Africa's richest square mile", Sandton is the office location of choice for multinational investment banks and brokerages - thanks, in part, to its heavy security.
In the car parks of Nelson Mandela Square it would take one of the more exotic marques of European sports car to stand out among the super-charged Range Rovers and luxury S-class Mercedes saloons.
The boutiques above are as chic and expensive as anything in Hong Kong's Central district, while the clientele of the complex's nightclubs and restaurants are, if anything, even more elegant and cosmopolitan than the denizens of Shanghai's smartest A-list venues.
Black and white rub shoulders easily, discreetly checking out each other's watches and frocks. Talk is of the boundless wealth creation opportunities afforded by the new Africa.
The riches of Sandton stand out all the more sharply because its glittering office towers are just two kilometres from Alexandra, one of Johannesburg's poorest shanty towns.