October 14, 2026

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article saying that China is on the cusp of becoming a high-income country by the World Bank's classification. "China doesn't want to join the ranks of the world's developed countries," the article claimed, arguing that China benefits from its current status in international groups as "developing." In fact, being a high-income country is not the same as being a developed country. By conflating the two concepts, the Wall Street Journal article attempts to exert public pressure on China to shoulder international obligations that go beyond its current level of development.

According to World Bank estimates, China's gross national income (GNI) per capita stood at $14,230 in 2025, slightly below the high-income threshold of $14,375. It is worth noting that this World Bank classification is based solely on GNI per capita, rather than a comprehensive assessment of a country's level of modernization, industrial development and public services. In recent years, countries such as Chile, Uruguay, Panama and Costa Rica have crossed the World Bank's high-income threshold. However, they are still widely regarded by the international community as developing countries or emerging economies, rather than automatically being classified as developed countries simply because they have reached the high-income threshold.

As Chinese modernization steadily advances, China has made historic achievements in economic and social development, with its GDP firmly ranking second in the world. However, multiple indicators show that China's status as a developing country remains unchanged. For example, there is still a significant gap in per capita GDP compared to developed economies like those in Europe and the US, regional development imbalances have not yet been fundamentally resolved, and disparities persist between urban and rural areas.

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https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202610/1372221.shtml