China's middle class will account for one third of the nation's population in 2030, their purchasing power reaching that of the European Union now that's according to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The report says, in 2030, about 35 percent of the Chinese population will have annual disposable income of over 10 thousand US dollars up from the current 10 percent level. It says private consumption, including goods, services and rent will grow at an average yearly speed of 5.5 percent.

The report says China's current consumer spending levels are what were seen in Malaysia in the 2000s. The analytics company expects that in 2030, the purchasing power of individual Chinese consumers will be commensurate with that of South Korea today, or the United States in 2000.