The United States envies China’s infrastructure but finds it difficult to imitate

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An article in The Wall Street Journal dated April 5, originally titled: The U.S. envies China’s infrastructure, but imitating it is no easy task. Even those who are most critical of China are amazed by the country’s ability to build bridges, railways, and other infrastructure. Current President Biden is the latest U.S. leader to mention China’s aforementioned achievements; he is currently pressing Congress to approve funding for a major infrastructure project. He said that investing over $2 trillion to improve America’s infrastructure is the price to pay in order to defeat China in competition. Grand airports, magnificent stadiums, and stunning skylines attract tourists to China. That once-poor country managed, within one generation, to become America’s main strategic and economic rival, and its infrastructure is perhaps the most evident and admirable aspect of its modernization process. Beijing Daxing International Airport (file photo) “I’m really envious of China,” said Thomas Campagnella, a historian specializing in urban planning at Cornell University. “It seems that the Chinese are able to do those things that we used to do in the past.” ”Campagnella once lived in eastern China for a while. In terms of infrastructure, China has achieved leapfrog development from bicycles to high-speed railways, but there may be limited Chinese experiences that the United States can directly apply to improving its infrastructure. The two countries have different needs and political systems; setting aside other factors, first of all, **they can give full authority to initiate construction. Data from the American Foreign Service Association shows that the United States spends 2.4% of its GDP on infrastructure, compared to 8% in China. China has at least 1 million bridges, including most of the world’s tallest bridges. Of the world’s 100 tallest skyscrapers, 49 are in China. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (illustrative image). In 2014, Bill Gates revealed a surprising figure: China used more cement in those three years than the United States did throughout the entire 20th century. According to data from the International Iron and Steel Association based in Brussels, China’s steel production accounts for more than half of the world’s total, and last year its output was 14 times that of the United States. China’s high-speed railways connect 98% of the country’s major cities, and many cities have subways. The total length of high-speed railways is 23,550 miles (about 38,000 kilometers), which is equivalent to four round trips between New York and Los Angeles. Arthur Kroeber, co-founder of Gavekal Dragonomics, a company that specializes in research on Chinese issues, said that China’s strategy for building railways is to first construct the railways, and then people will naturally use them ； What the United States can learn is that investment in infrastructure should prioritize broad social benefits rather than relying on strict income projections. China’s value proposition for high-speed railways includes some benefits that are difficult to quantify, such as improved industrial efficiency in the coming decades as passenger trains are separated from busy freight routes. The subway allows cities to expand to areas where there is space to build residential buildings, which can increase the homeownership rate. For its economy, it is a win-win circular system. In this process, China has also become a major producer of large drilling rigs and the world’s largest producer of subway carriages. Large drilling machines are used to dig tunnels in rock and riverbeds. Campagnella said, “We need to add a touch of Chinese element to our actions.” ” Source: Huanqiu Net; Content source: China Youth Net