Cumulative

For years top US and European financial firms have viewed Chinese consumers as their next big opportunity. Young Chinese—the nation’s best-educated and highest-paid group ever—have changed retail in China. Already the biggest buyers for items including cosmetics and travel, they’re likely to boost their spending fourfold to 16 trillion yuan ($2.3 trillion) by 2035, according to estimates by advisory firm China Renaissance.

Many companies expected that these young consumers would start pouring their money into the financial markets, leading a nationwide shift away from property as a source of wealth. Hans Fan, the head of China financial research at brokerage CLSA Ltd., estimates that cumulative flows into financial markets from all Chinese households will exceed $18 trillion between 2021 and 2030.