Asia's celebrated middle class, long the engine of growth, is changing.
They are not just consumers.
They are trendsetters and also a key indicator of future growth potential.
With over 400 million, China's middle class is larger than the population of the United States.
But these days, the average Chinese consumer is spending less.
What happens when the world's largest middle class block scrimps and saves?
China is actually still a developing economy with a growth rate of around 5%.
Having a 1% inflation just simply do not make too much sense.
And is the Chinese middle class dream still alive?
In Guangzhou, China, the Lee family had just returned from a vacation.
Early February marked China's Spring Festival,
a time when the Chinese travel back to their hometowns to visit family or sightsee.
The holiday travel rush lasted for 40 days this year,
racking up a record 9 billion trips taken across the country.
It's known as the largest annual human migration.
Besides the festivities and pageantry,
there is one reason China watchers pay close attention to the Spring Festival.
As economists, we always look to barometers or early signals of where a particular phenomenon is headed.
So where would Chinese consumer spending or consumption spending be like for 2025, for this year?
There are a few indicators, early indicators.