The Chinese no longer live in a planned economy environment. Rapid improvement in living standard has brought about rapid changes in consumption. China has been buying technology and industrial goods from the West for a long time, but demand for consumer goods is growing at breathtaking speed.

    Of the 1.3 billion people, more than half live in cities and towns whereas farmers and their families account for only 44% of the total population now. At present, over 400 million Chinese have an annual income of over $3,000, well above the $800 level at which consumerism takes off.

    Translated into purchasing power parity, China is the second largest economy in the world. It will be the largest market in the world in the 21st century for consumer goods. 

    The following nine areas are where the demand is likely to maintain its momentum for coming years:                                                                  

	housing,
	healthcare,
	education,
	automobile,
	insurance,
	communication,
	travel,
	cosmetics,
	entertainment.

   Consequently high growth segments are:

	consumer durables,
	household products,
	interior decoration,
	cars, car parts and car services,
	schools and educational services,
	foreign language teaching,
	educational publications,
	health food,
	preventive medicine,
	workout equipment,
	healthcare services,
	insurance services and products,
	convenience food, baby food, senior's food, packaged food,
	telecommunication products and services,
	computers, digital cameras and software products,
	cosmetics, skin care and personal care products,
	beauty parlors,
	fashion clothes and designer labels,
	travel services
	internet services.

    Chinese consumers are willing to pay more for convenience, efficiency, brand names, imports, aesthetics and leisure time activities.

    For all its potential, China is not a fertile land that promises immediate harvest to minimum tilling. Investing in China carries risk. But those who know the market and have the right human resources to carry out their strategy will surely profit from the tremendous opportunities. Success in China calls for careful planning, foresight, patience, tenacity, tolerance of ambiguity as well as flexibility and creativity.