Unjustifiable consumption

China has become the world's second-largest consumer of high-end fashion, accessories and luxury goods, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The country now buys 27.5 percent of the world's luxury goods, following in the footsteps of Japan, and is set to become the largest consumer of such items in five years' time.

Now, the Chinese citizen's dreams of cars, cash and credit cards extend well beyond the coveted goods of the 1980s - watches, radios and bicycles - and the TVs, washing machines and refrigerators of the 1990s. From luxury confectionery and designer clothes to imported beer and expensive cars, Chinese shoppers are buying as never before.