Inequality growing in China

"Anyone who's visited Shanghai recently might be forgiven for thinking that China has made a spectacular leap from third world poverty to first world affluence in just a generation.

"However, despite the glittering skyscrapers and gleaming shopping malls, that is, at best, a half truth, and doesn't reflect the reality of daily life in much of China's rural areas.

"Even the government-controlled media are now warning that the gap between the rich and the poor is becoming alarmingly wide, and could lead to social unrest.

"As our China Correspondent John Taylor reports, the Chinese Government wants its people to know that it is trying to deal with the problem.

"JOHN TAYLOR: From the Bentley showroom in Beijing it's a brief walk to see people living in ramshackle dirty homes, struggling to make a living.

"China is officially communist. But from its founding, China has been a land of privilege and prosperity for some, and hard times for others.

"As economic growth booms and China sucks in investment money from around the world, the gap between the haves and the have-nots is getting bigger ..."
Correspondents Report

Tagged: china, corporations, poverty, inequality, globalization, capitalism, communism