BEIJING -- Zhao Xue Bo, an international relations researcher at Beijing Broadcasting Institute, a national university, has been saving money for some time to buy a new car.
With a job that secures him an annual salary of about 36,000 yuan (roughly 576,000 yen), almost twice the average annual income of a wage-earner in the capital, the 37-year-old Zhao said he hopes to buy a Japanese brand because he believes they have high quality and are fuel efficient.
"But they are still very expensive," said Zhao, who already owns an apartment near the university. He said he would be willing to buy a car for a little more than 100,000 yuan, or 1.6 million yen. "I'm waiting for the right kind of car with an affordable price to be released."