In my opinion it does not tell the same story. To me there is a massive difference in a Chinese person making $2 or $700 a year. But again, I only talked with a handful of young Chinese guys that were happy to be earning a buck a day with a free room and a bunk-bed... even if they had to share it with 4 people. And that was back in the mid 90s!
Perhaps it does not tell the same story -- still, it would be nice to sell more Fords in China, or more iphones, stoves, or tennis rackets.
If 30% of the people in China make very little (whether $2/yr or $700/yr) it means that they won't be buying the stuff we produce, but that we will be buying the stuff that they produce.
America will have jobs at home when we open up new markets for what we produce. At only $700/yr, China is not a fully exploitable market for us. That's bad for them, and bad for us.