(ECNS) -- Although Chinese households are boosting their pockets, most of the money lies in real estate while financial literacy remains low.
Associate professor Li Feng, chief researcher at the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, released a survey on the finances of Chinese households during the 2015 South Korea-Sichuan Western Forum on November 27.
The average Chinese household currently owns 919,000 yuan ($143,640), twice the amount in 2013, according to the survey. However, 69.2 percent of total household assets are in real estate, signaling a lack of liquidity.
The survey also shows that Chinese household financial literacy is still low. The financial knowledge index in the U.S. and Netherlands are 75.3 percent and 78.8 percent respectively, while in China the figure is 42.
As Chinese households tend to buy homes as an investment, less money is put in financial products with high liquidity. The debt rate is also lower than in the West.
"This shows that Chinese incomes and financial literacy are still low," Li said. "People lack the money and knowledge to buy high-liquidity financial products."
