‘China Speed’ leaves neighbors in its wake

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By CGTN's The Point

Nineteen days to build a 200-meter skyscraper, eight hours to remove a 600-meter overpass. This might sound like science fiction, but in China, it is a reality.

“China speed” is overtaking its neighbors in many ways. “In China, we can build up a bridge in three years, but in Mumbai, we spend more than nine years,” Sun Xinxiao, a senior engineer with China Harbour Engineering Company who has been working on infrastructure programs in India, told CGTN’s The Point.

Nearly 100 excavators helped demolish the Yonghemen Overfly on August 26, 2016 in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province of China. /VCG Photo

The key is manpower. “In China, we have skilled management staff, and manpower. But in India, we hire people from the market. Some of them are farmers, or local laborers, and they don’t have good training, they're not so skilled,” he noted.

For Xu Sitao, chief economist at Deloitte China, much of it also comes down to the mentality.

“Particularly after the economic reform started, there has been a strong urge for catching up, and there is a mentality of long-term planning, therefore I think the execution reached a different level.”

And China’s economic drive has provided additional incentives: “I think we always follow this notion that infrastructure is simply the precondition for future economic development,” Xu argued.

The Point with Liu Xin is a 30-minute current affairs program on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 9.30 p.m. BJT (1330GMT), with rebroadcasts at 5.30 a.m. (2130GMT) and 10.30 a.m (0230GMT).