In addition to income measurement, a research team led by Professor Zhou Xiaohong in Nanjing University further defined middle class occupations as professionals in management and technology, entrepreneurs, private business owners, and civil servants (meaning government officials).

FORBES: Defining the Chinese Middle Class

Foreign firms should establish long-term interaction with leading Chinese faculty at Chinese universities, from top-rated Beijing University to Tsinghua to Fudan (in Shanghai) to other colleges in Tianjin, Dalian, Nanjing, Wuhan, Xiamen and Guangdong.

FORBES: China Turns Its Focus To Africa