In a widely watched move, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission launched an investigation into the incomes of employees of State-owned organizations and enterprises in mid-August, with a new investigation item targeting "hidden income".

The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

"It's directed at the crux of the problem," Chi said. "You can't make a fair distribution before you actually know how much you have. The investigation results will be an important reference to push forward income distribution reform."

According to Chi, the current unfair distribution of income is partly caused by the disparity between urban and rural areas and coastal and inland regions. But it can also be attributed to industrial monopolies and government agencies competing with the private sector. The reform is a readjustment of the current structure of interests, he said.

Zheng Xinli, executive deputy director of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, believes that China should increase the income of middle- and lower-income earners to form an "olive-shaped" income distribution structure, instead of the current pyramid-shaped one.

According to the General Social Survey by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 2017, the middle-income bracket is $11,800 to $17,700 per year, which accounts for about 23 percent of China's population - far lower than in developed economies, and even lower than some other emerging economies.

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