Indeed, China's GDP per capita in 2013 is comparable to Japan's in the late 1970s, well before the Japanese "bubble". http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/indicator

Indeed, China's GDP per capita in 2013 is comparable to Japan's in the late 1970s, well before the Japanese "bubble". http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/indicators/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD/compare?country=jp#country=br:cn:jp:us http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/indicators/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD/co... Also, although China's been quickly urbanizing, China's % of urban population (about 51%) is still lower than Japan's in the 1960s (about 62%): http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/indicators/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS/compare?country=jp#country=br:cn:jp:us http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/indicators/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS... That said, plain old GDP also matters depending who you are. If your country's economy heavily relies on Chinese imports/exports (see my other comment), your government doesn't care much about the average Chinese citizen's living standards.