The life of the party in China: how wealth gets spread

"China's 'It Couple' Builds Sleek Towers And a High Profile: Yuppie Pair Becomes Darling Of the Changing Media; Who Wore What at Party," by Kathy Chen, Wall Street Journal, 22 July, p. A1.

"Japan Almost Doubles Forecast for Economic Growth," by Todd Zaun, New York Times, 22 July, p. W1.

China's "It Couple" are a pair of construction tycoons (she in her late 30's and he is his early 40's) who seem to enjoy the limelight like nobody since Donald and Ivana Trump were a pair. That's not as surprising as the fact that they've become real favorites of the masses. As one fan put it: "China has so many people with money. Why do we want to follow them? They don't just have money; they have taste."

Well, that immediately pushes Ms Zhang Xin and Mr. Pan Shiyi beyond the realm of the Donald and Ivana. In some ways, what this couple have become is more like a Martha Stewart of the middle class. As Ms. Zhang declares: "We sort of started the middle-class consciousness of lifestyle. We pay a lot of attention to decorating details."

You may laugh at such things, as though the poor, formerly socialist Chinese are pathetically aping American consumer values, but the growth of consumerism in China is more than an economic and social phenomenon, it signals a much greater potential for long-term stability both within China and around the world. A stable middle class in China bodes well for political reforms there over time, and a huge consumer class in China generates an extra pillar of stability for the global economy that hasófor far too longórelied almost solely on the American consumer during hard times.

Already, China's growing consumer society is lifting Japan out of its decade-long recession. As the Times notes, most economists "expect Japan's expansion to decelerate as corporate investment slows and China's torrid economic growth continues to cool. Japan's economy is closely tied to China's, and therefore vulnerable to any slowdown there."