The frenzy at the Apple store underscored the rise of the Chinese consumer, a development that analysts say is needed to support the global economy and make China's growth more sustainable.

But the empty SOHO complex cast a different light on what is happening in the world's second largest economy: consumption is rising, but not nearly as fast as vast shopping centres are being built.

A boom in the number of malls without a matching increase in actual shopping gets to the heart of what analysts see as the fundamental problem of the Chinese economy: too much investment, too little consumption.