The Chinese Are Now Buying as Much Stuff as Americans, a Game-Changer for the World Economy

In 2018, retail sales in China are expected to equal or surpass sales in the U.S. for the first time, another definitive marker in China's rise to economic superpower status, The Washington Post reported. The growth of China's domestic retail market is luring everyone from automakers to makeup companies that want to cash in on the country's growing middle class, but it also serves as another complication in President Trump's quest to transform U.S.-China trade. Retail sales in China are on track to hit just over $5.8 trillion this year. It's a stunning rise from a decade ago, when retail sales in China were a quarter of those in the U.S. China's rapidly growing middle class has been eager to buy brand-name clothes, cars and cellphones, among other products. Shanghai is now referred to in fashion circles as “Paris of the East.” Their spending habits have been supported by fatter paychecks, with China's income per capita jumping from about $2,000 a year a decade ago to over $8,000 a year now.