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Western media: "China is building infrastructure that doesn't make money!" Beijing: "We are connecting economic development to border regions and neighbouring

Western media: "China is building infrastructure that doesn't make money!" Beijing: "We are connecting economic development to border regions and neighbouring countries for geostrategic and unification purposes, we don't care about cost" Personal observation: Beijing is smart. I personally lived on and near the southwestern Chinese border for most of the last 16 years and they are definitely kicking ass with infrastructure, including high speed trains, renewable energy (wind/hydro/solar) and highways. They have achieved their goal of economic integration for a lot of formerly isolated people. There were abuses earlier but now they generally give people who are moved a pretty good deal, eg. free rice and oil for life, free apartment plus a life long monthly stipend per household member (source: Personal interview with someone to be moved, Chinese New Year 2017). Western media: "Build it and they will come!" Beijing: "They are already here." Personal observation: Beijing is basically right, except in some private sector residential building projects. Another low quality China-bashing article from the NYT.

pcardh0 9y ago
At some point this type of infrastructure is a waste of money. It is not clear if China is at this point yet. For this particular bridge how transparency is there? Who borrowed the money to built it? How will they pay it back? If the debt can not be repaid, will that fact be made public? Have any of these projects failed or have they all "worked"?
pizzetta 9y ago
It might be politically motivated in that China shows a different way to progress but while they have lifted hundreds of millions out of utter poverty, their recipe to success includes union-busting, child labor, long work-hours, etc as well as their foray into "imperialism lite" in Africa. Everything the NYT stands against. So in that light they cannot possibly hold them as exemplars, given those things, even if ideologically the CN gov is leftist.
- contingencies 9y ago
  Children are required to be in school, by law. Some work as well (often in family restaurants as all over the world) or leave early and get low skilled jobs, but outside of purely agricultural areas this is pretty rare. In my experience work hours are the same as the US (which itself is famously bad on holidays and worker freedom from a European or Australian perspective) for the most part, with a six day per week maximum but better holidays than the US. People who work hard tend to take longer holidays or contract work. Re: 'stands for' ... not sure how valid bringing in to any discussion the supposed moral stance of a news outlet is.

pcardh0 9y ago

At some point this type of infrastructure is a waste of money. It is not clear if China is at this point yet. For this particular bridge how transparency is there? Who borrowed the money to built it? How will they pay it back? If the debt can not be repaid, will that fact be made public? Have any of these projects failed or have they all "worked"?

pizzetta 9y ago

It might be politically motivated in that China shows a different way to progress but while they have lifted hundreds of millions out of utter poverty, their recipe to success includes union-busting, child labor, long work-hours, etc as well as their foray into "imperialism lite" in Africa. Everything the NYT stands against. So in that light they cannot possibly hold them as exemplars, given those things, even if ideologically the CN gov is leftist.

contingencies 9y ago
Children are required to be in school, by law. Some work as well (often in family restaurants as all over the world) or leave early and get low skilled jobs, but outside of purely agricultural areas this is pretty rare. In my experience work hours are the same as the US (which itself is famously bad on holidays and worker freedom from a European or Australian perspective) for the most part, with a six day per week maximum but better holidays than the US. People who work hard tend to take longer holidays or contract work. Re: 'stands for' ... not sure how valid bringing in to any discussion the supposed moral stance of a news outlet is.