Social Structure and Social Stratification in Contemporary China

Xueyi Lu

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN:
  9780367404093
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000709865
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Classes & Economic Disparity
• Index: Social Sciences

What is the social structure of Chinese society in the 21st century? How should China address the problem of migrant workers? How can China form a modern society? These key sociological issues are some of the topics this book covers. This book is a collection of the research articles and lectures that Dr. Lu Xueyi, the former Head of the Institute of Sociology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, has published since the 1980s. The author discusses the social structure, social stratification, social construction, and development of contemporary Chinese society. Arguing that the gap between economic and social development has become the major social issue facing modern China, the author advocates paying close attention to the country's social structure and the growth of the middle class. The book will be of interest for all scholars and students of Sociology and Chinese Studies.

1
China’s social structure in the 21st century

Social structure transformation in China¹

The modern history of China after 1840 is a history of the Chinese people’s struggle for modernization. Building a modern society and joining the ranks of the world’s advanced nations is an ideal for several generations in China. Since 1978, our country has implemented the policy of prioritizing economic construction and carried out reform and opening up. As a result, this ideal is gradually becoming a reality. In the early 1980s, China formulated a three-step development strategy for the achievement of modernization. The first step was to double the gross national product (GNP) of 1980 and to solve the problem of food and clothing for the people. This goal was basically achieved in 1987. The second step was to double the GNP again by the end of the 20th century and raise the people’s standard of living to a moderately prosperous level. The third step was to bring the average per capita GNP to the level of moderately developed countries in 30–50 years. People will enjoy a relatively well-off life by then, and a modern society will by and large be built. We are now in the midst of our endeavor to achieve the goal of building a moderately prosperous society by the year 2000. The first half of the 21st century will be a period in history when the construction of socialist modernization with Chinese characteristics in our country is brought to its completion.

The reform and opening up since 1978 has brought great progress and profound changes to the Chinese society. China is at present undergoing a period of social transformation, changing from a traditional to a modern society, from an agricultural to an industrial society, from a rural to an urban society, and from a closed and semi-closed society to an open society. Social structural transition in the transformation from a traditional to a modern society is not specific to the social development of socialist societies. It is rather a transitional phase in the process of modernization that all economically developed modernized countries have gone through. But due to China’s special historical, cultural, and economic, as well as resource, backgrounds, the transformation of the social structure has shown a number of characteristics different from those of other countries. An important aspect of socialist modernization with Chinese characteristics is that while realizing the transition to a modern society, we need at the same time to bring about the transition from a planned economy to a socialist market economy. It is therefore necessary to first carry out a series of system reforms.

Such a close link between the transformation of the social structure and the reform of the economic system is rarely seen in the modernization processes of other countries. The transition from a traditional to a modern society, from a planned economy to a socialist market economy, structural transformation, and system reforms proceed simultaneously, together with the interweaving of structural conflicts, institutional frictions, and conflicts of multiple interests, roles, and values that have occurred during the process of transformation have made the situation more complicated and the transformation itself more difficult; not to mention the fact that this reform is taking place in a big country with a population of 1.2 billion and an unbalanced development. Thus, the difficulty, the complexity, and the arduousness involved can be easily imagined. Therefore, special emphasis should be laid on the role of stabilizing, coordinating, and innovative mechanisms in the process of realizing the transformation of the social structure and system reforms. Since 1978, the implementation of the policy of reform and opening up has forcefully propelled the process of this great historical transformation. Our experiences in the past years have proved that reform and opening up is the road we must take not only for the self-improvement of the socialist system, but also for the building of socialism with Chinese characteristics and achieving the modernization of the Chinese society.

The period from 1995–2010 is most critical for building a socialist modern state in China. Since 1978, we have set things right, put the focus of our work nationwide on economic construction, made the decisions on reform and opening up, formulated and implemented a series of new policies, and carried out fruitful large-scale economic and social undertakings, and in so doing laid a solid political, economic, and social foundation for realizing the social structure transformation as well as the transition of the economic system. By 2000, China will have quadrupled, or even potentially more than quadrupled, the GNP of 1980, but the per capita GNP will only be $800–1,000 US, and we have only established the basic framework for a socialist market system. Therefore, the GNP should be doubled again by 2010 compared with the year 2000. By then, China’s overall national strength will be considerable. A socialist market system will be built in all respects. The system will be improved, become mature, and be finalized, so that China’s economic and social development will proceed on a more effective systemic foundation. However, during this period, conflicts between the two types of structures, frictions between the two types of systems, conflicts of multiple interests, and between new and old ideas will continue. Unpredictable and sudden international and domestic events will occur. All this will have an impact on our reform and development in the cause of modernization. Twists and turns, opportunities, and risks coexist. This is why we say that the years 1995–2010 constitute the most critical period for China in building a modern state. We have already mounted the steps of all-around economic and social development and are on the verge of crossing the threshold of joining the ranks of modernized countries.

There are a number of factors that are favorable for us in pushing ahead with our reform. First, our accomplishments since 1978 have laid a good foundation. Deng Xiaoping’s theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics has won the support of the people. Building a socialist modernized state through reform and opening up has become a shared understanding of the people of all ethnic groups. One may say that our direction is now clear, the road has been opened up, and the Chinese ship heading for modernization is advancing. Second, the international environment is favorable. The Cold War pattern of US and Soviet confrontation has come to an end. A new world order is taking shape. The development of the world has come to a juncture at which the new is replacing the old. At this unusual moment of the turn of the century, time has moved in Asia’s favor. Many people of insight believe that the 21st century will be the century of Asia-Pacific. China is located at an important position in the Asia-Pacific. Favorable climate, geographical position, and the support of the people, together with geo-political and geo-economic advantages, have given China a chance of a lifetime. Third, China has maintained a good momentum of economic development. Thanks to the reform of the economic system and the goal of realizing the transition to a socialist market economy, China’s comprehensive industrialization is underway. The authority concerned predicts that the period from 1991–2010 will be a golden age of China’s economic growth. In these 20 years, the annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate will be 8.25%. By 2010, the per capita income is expected to enter the ranks of middle-income countries, up from low-income countries. Furthermore, ours is a populous country, so the overall scale of the national economy will likely leap to the forefront of the world. Foreign experts have made similar predictions: “If the current momentum of development is maintained, China will become the fourth largest economy after the United States, Europe, and Japan.”

However, there are also unfavorable factors. First, in terms of reform and development as a whole, we have accomplished more in economic development than in reform. Although reform is the forerunner of and spurs development, we have after all implemented a planned economy for almost 30 years. It has penetrated into various economic and social spheres. One can really say that it is deep-seated, complicated, and difficult to deal with. The initial reform in agriculture was relatively smooth and carried out with great efficiency. The victory won at this stage boosted our confidence to push ahead with all-round reform. But when it comes to urban and industrial reform, the problem is more complicated. The original forecast was that urban reform would achieve results in three to five years. But 10 years have passed, and our reform of large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises still hasn’t found a strategy comparable to the recognized effective reform strategy of the household responsibility system, and there are still many difficult problems to solve. Second, comparing social development with the development of the economy, whether it is the social system reform or the development of social undertakings, both are lagging behind the reform of the economic system and economic development. The economic structure has changed through adjustment. But there is no corresponding change in the social structure (for instance, urban and rural structures have not been changed accordingly). The government has made the decision to build a socialist market economic system, but the development of social undertakings and structure reform under such a system is still in the exploratory and experimental stage. Third, China’s development has since long been unbalanced. Over the years, the gap between urban and rural areas, between regions and occupations is not narrowing, but rather widening. For instance, the income difference between urban and rural residents in 1978 was 2.37:1 and narrowed down in 1984 to 1.7:1. The rebound after 1985 resulted in a widening of the difference to 2.55:1 in 1993. The gap between eastern, central, and western regions is also widening. For a country in which most of the residents have always had the traditional idea of “Inequality rather than want is the cause of trouble” (不患寡而患不均), if these gaps continue to expand without our finding a reasonable solution, it will become a latent element of instability. Our present policy is to give proper attention to the principle of fairness under the condition of efficiency first.

Nevertheless, looking at the underlying trend of future development, favorable conditions dominate in comparison to these unfavorable factors. The current momentum of development and reform is good, and the international environment favorable. We have also geo-political and geo-economic advantages. More importantly, the immense achievements we have made since the beginning of reform and opening up have laid a political and economic foundation for continued development in the future. The political situation is stable. The masses of the people are highly motivated for reform and opening up and have great potential. We have thus reason to believe that we will continue to deepen the reform, further opening up, overcoming and changing the obstacles and unfavorable factors on our way, and achieve sustained economic growth and the social structure transformation.

Once the goal of economic development and social progress of 1995–2010 has been achieved, the most critical period of building a modern society will be over and the threshold of entering the ranks of modernized countries crossed. The road to development will be broader and the room for maneuvering greater. We will go into a period of relatively stable development. Along with the rapid economic growth and the adjustment of the economic structure, social structure and social relations will also change. As mentioned earlier, China is in transition from a traditional to a modern society. Reform and opening up since 1978 has greatly accelerated the process. As far as the transition from a traditional to a modern social structure is concerned, some aspects have come close to the breakthrough point, whereas other aspects need a longer period of change. Our country has a large population, vast territory, and very uneven development; hence, the transition to a modern social structure of provinces, cities, and regions will not proceed at the same pace. Some will take the lead, and the development will be in a gradient manner. By the middle of the 21st century, China will have realized the transition from a traditional social structure to a modern social structure, and a socialist modernized country will be fully built. The following is an analysis and forecast of some important aspects of changes in the process of the social structure transformation.

The problem of population structure

At the end of 1993, China’s population was 1.185 billion, the natural population growth rate 11.45% and the total fertility rate 2.16. According to experts’ median calculation based on the data of the 1990 national census, China’s total population will rise to 1.287 billion by 2000, and is expected to reach its peak in 2033. By then, the total population will be 1.519 billion. Thereafter, the Chinese population will gradually decline.

In 1990, the number of illiterate and semiliterate people aged 15 or older was 182 million, amounting to 16.1% of the total population. It dropped by 6.5% compared to about 22.8% at the second census in 1982. The average annual decline was 0.84 percentage points. This shows that our work against illiteracy has made great progress in the past eight years. According to the census, there were 15.76 million people in China with a college degree or above in 1990, an increase of 9.72 million over 6.04 million in 1982, which amounted to160.1%. The total amount of people with high school and secondary specialized school education in 1990 was 89.88 million, a rise of 23.35 million over 66.53 million in 1982. The increase was 35%. In general, over the past 10 years, the cultural quality of the whole population has been greatly improved, the best in the history of development in China. But a crosswise comparison shows that the cultural composition of the population in our country is still relatively low. The previously mentioned population with university education accounts only for 1.4% of the total population. In Europe and the United States, on the other hand, the proportions of people with university education in 1987 were all over 10% of the total population. In the former Soviet Union and Japan, the proportion was over 5%.

At the end of 1990, people aged 65 and over in our country were 64.18 million, 5.6% of the total population. According to the forecast, the number will rise to 88 million by 2000, which amounts to 6.8% of the total population. By the year 2004, this number will exceed 7% and China will be on its way to join the ranks of aging countries. By 2030, 219 million people, 14.5% of the total population in China, will be 65 and older, which is equivalent to the proportion of French elderly people in the total population in 1992. Looking at the data of various countries, the rise of the proportion of people aged 65 and over from 5% to 7% usually takes 40–100 years, so the process of population aging is synchronized with the economic process. In China, however, it will take only 22 years for the share of elderly population to rise from 4.9% in 1982 to 7% in 2004. This is a consequence of the implementation of the birth control policy. Population aging in our country is occurring at a rapid pace not in keeping with the process of economic development. This will make it more difficult to provide for the aged.

Ours is a populous country. We have in the past experienced many setbacks in tackling the problems of population control and family planning. From the early 1970s, we have implemented family planning. The first National Family Planning Conference was held in 1972. According to the situation in our country, a series of policies were then adopted and implemented to control population growth, improve population quality, and adjust the population structure. From central to local authorities, governments at all levels from top to bottom all carried out family planning as a fundamental national policy. Twenty years have passed, great success has been achieved in our work of family planning, and the policies have won the approval of most people. The birth rate and the natural growth rate have decreased significantly to a level below the average rate in the world. In 1972, China’s population accounted for 23.2% of the world’s total population; in 1981, the percentage was 22.2%, and in 1991, only 21.49%. According to the forecast of the United Nations Population Organization, China’s population will account for 21.27% of the world’s total population by 2004 and will go down to 18.5% by the year 2025. One should say that China’s family planning policies have been highly effective and have made a contribution to humanity Halfdan Mahler, the Director General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, has said: “China is a big country. It is very difficult to carry out the work (on family planning). All the same, the government’s family planning policies have been very effective.” In September 1995, just before the convening of the International Conference on Population and Development in Cario, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, said: “China has made a very important contribution to the population problem and the problem of the relationship between population and development.”

When China began to enforce the one-child-per-couple fertility policy, there were strong reactions both at home and abroad. Some people abroad for different reasons were very critical of it. The one-child policy was a decision made on the basis of China’s special circumstances with a large population. It was a constituent part of the policy of “fewer children, good upbringing, and quality education.” In spite of the enforcement of such a strict policy, we still have a net population increase of 14–15 million per year. For a country like China with a relative shortage of per capita arable land and resources, which at the same time must carry out large-scale modernization, such a policy is really necessary. It has gradually gained people’s approval. At present, many people at home and friends abroad share a common concern. As a result of the one-child policy, there are fewer children in a family, giving rise to the “four-two-one” family structure, i.e., family with two grandparents (4), father and mother (2), and one child. Chinese people have always had a special love for children. Children are the center of attention in the family. They grow up in easy circumstances and are waited on hand and foot. They are self-indulgent, reclusive, and lack the ability of self-care. They are brought up to be “little suns,” “little aristocrats,” and “small bullies.” In 10–20 years, this generation of people will set foot in society, what a terrible thing it might be! Aren’t they going to be the beat generation? There is some truth in this worry. We must keep our eyes open to this risk. The whole society should pay close attention to this problem and try hard to avoid such a prospect. We should, however, also look at the other side. First, in the early 1980s, taking into account farmers’ actual production and living conditions, the government relaxed the fertility policy for farmers’ families, allowing rural couples with only one daughter to have a second birth. So, in fact single child family is not as common as one thinks. For example, among the total population born in 1989, first-born children accounted for 49.5%, second-born 31.3%, and third-born 19.3%. There are, of course, many more single-child families in the cities. Second, we should also see the good side of having one child. Since a family has only one child, there are plentiful human, material, and financial resources in the family to give the child a good upbringing and schooling (this is especially important since China at present is still a low-income country). Single children can get better living conditions, which are conducive to their bodily growth; they can get better education, which is conducive to their intellectual development. Moreover, when these children grow up ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of tables
• Editor’s words
• A note on translation and romanization
• Acknowledgments
• 1 China’s social structure in the 21st century: social structure transformation in China
• 2 Adjusting the urban-rural structure, expanding domestic demand, and promoting the healthy development of the economy
• 3 Several issues concerning social structure change in China in the past 30 years
• 4 Breaking the bifurcated urban-rural structure and realizing economic and social integration of urban and rural areas
• 5 Theories and methods for the study of contemporary Chinese social structure
• 6 Social structural analysis of urban-rural integration and the path to its realization
• 7 Breaking the system of bifurcated urban-rural structure is the fundamental way to solve the “three rural” problems
• 8 Sociology should pay attention to the study of the problem of farmers today
• 9 Rethinking the development of the individual and private economy in China at the present stage
• 10 Emergence and development of the private economy and the stratum of private business owners in China: evolution in practice and theory
• 11 The issue of migrant workers should be fundamentally addressed
• 12 Evolution of the structure of social strata in contemporary China
• 13 Social mobility in contemporary China
• 14 Differentiation and mobility of social strata in contemporary China
• 15 Sixty years of changes in the structure of social classes and strata in China
• Index