Everyone undoubtedly believes China has been the fastest growing economy in the world. But people familiar with the country may hesitate to believe when told Chinese tourists travelling abroad are the biggest spenders of all nationalities, even though this is the result of a professional survey.

It seems hard to believe shoppers from a developing country can spend more than those from much more affluent nations such as Japan or the United States.

According to AC Nielsen and the Tax Free World Association (TFWA), Chinese travellers abroad are the most extravagant shoppers, spending US$987 on average on shopping per trip. Travellers to Europe even spend an average US$1,781.

The survey shows high street shops are the most frequented shopping venues, with 81 per cent of the 1,500 surveyed in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou saying they have visited them.

The extravagance displayed by a small group of Chinese travellers is not a dependable barometer for the affluence of the nation as a whole.

With its economy storming ahead, China is sometimes regarded as a de facto developed country. This was evident during talks about accession to the WTO some years ago, and in the debate in Japan in recent years about continuing to offer China official development loans.

Those seeing China merely in terms of economic boom cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, or judging the nation on the showy consumption of Chinese tourists abroad, are missing something.

Despite its continually expanding economy, China is not a rich country by any standard. It remains a developing nation with about two-thirds of its population living in relatively backward rural areas. The average disposable income of its urban residents was merely US$1,135 in 2004, still 3.2 times that earned by farmers.

More importantly, the nation is yet to start developing in a balanced way, with many economists, although without verifiable statistics, believing 20 per cent of the people account for 80 per cent of bank deposits.

Given income inequality, the sample chosen by the AC Nielsen-TFWA survey, 1,500 people from China's three most prosperous cities, is not representative.

It should be noted the majority of people are not rich enough to afford to travel abroad. Last year, 28.85 million Chinese took a holiday overseas. This is a 43 per cent rise on 2003, but those travellers account for just 2 per cent of the population.

Travelling abroad remains a luxury enjoyed by a tiny group of relatively rich Chinese.

Despite recession in recent years, 13 per cent of Japanese travelled abroad in 2002. In Europe, the proportion is much higher.

It is accurate to say the survey shows the consumption habits of Chinese tourists rather than a marked improvement in the affluence of the people.

Domestic tourism services began to organize trips to foreign shores in 1997. Given the scarcity of opportunities to travel abroad, many Chinese tourists eye famous brands that are cheaper or seem more authentic than those sold domestically.

For many Chinese, travel means taking home bags of famous commodities, either for their own use or as gifts for friends and family.

As more and more Chinese find trips abroad increasingly affordable, things may change.

(China Daily August 2, 2005)