Middle class to become mainstream, says expert   

牛文元：中国中产阶级将走上社会前台

中国科学院可持续发展战略研究组组长、首席科学家、国务院参事牛文元教授31日表示，中国城市化率突破50%，必将引起深刻社会变革，其中社会结构也将出现重大转折，中产阶级将走上社会前台。

Beijing (CNS) -- Now that China's urbanization rate has surpassed 50 percent, the middle class will become the mainstream of Chinese society, Niu Wenyuan, director of the Sustainable Development Strategy Research Group under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has said.

Niu cited China's New-Urbanization Report 2012, of which he is one of the main authors, released Wednesday, saying that mainland urbanization reached 51.3 percent in 2011 and that China has entered a crucial stage.

The urbanization rate, a key index for China's development, will bring about many social changes, Niu said.

A stable middle class will form by 2013, he explained, which will lay a solid foundation for China to reach the level of the moderately developed  countries, and then basically achieve modernization by the middle of this century.

Social changes will also occur in the structure of the economy, human resources and management, Niu said.