And the income gap between urban households with high incomes and those with low incomes has also been increasing. Of course, given the complexity of the structural reforms involved, China cannot become a consumption economy overnight. This will take time. And for this very reason it is important to start now in order to ensure that the transition process is as smooth as possible.
However, the benefits of these structural reforms could be substantial. To give you an idea of just how substantial, I would like to quote a recent study by the Asian Development Bank 1 .