In per capita terms, China is still a fifth of the US. Having said that, it was someting like a 64th at one point before the reforms ($183 in 79 vs USA at $11,674). At current trajectory China can catch EU nations like Hungary and Poland in a few years time. Chinese GDP per capita has already exceeded Malaysia, which is not a poor country. Chinese income and average salaries are already at the higher band of a middle income nation.