It is my understanding that the army oversees the manufacturing companies there. The money is going to the Chi-Coms, NOT the people. If there is a "robust" middle class, then the wages are more than they were. Or, this "robust" middle class is the families of the Red Army.
Despite that, it's still not easy to make money here. Competition is fierce among both foreign and domestic companies, all targeting the estimated 300 million to 400 million middle-class Chinese consumers. Nevertheless, it's considered one of the world's most promising growth markets.
“The GDP in China is growing a lot and with that we are starting to see a lot more disposable income,” Steinberg said. “You walk down the street and you see more handphones, the number of cars is increasing. The GDP in Beijing is supposed to rise up to $6,000 by 2008. And that's pretty close to a lot of developed countries,” he said.