> Hong Kong native, Giovanni Arrighi progeny, and University of Indiana
> sociologist Ho-fung Hung claims that China's high-speed rail investments
> are part of the problem -- sops to the PRC's public-private state
> capitalists, further overcapacity in physical infrastructure -- and not
> part of the solution -- subsidies and income in the hands of China's
> bottom 80% of households.
Three points: (1) China isn't a bubble, (2) the stimulus package was never designed to be a cure-all, it was simply an emergency program designed to stabilize the situation, and (3) high-speed rail is absolutely vital in preventing China from becoming a US-style basket case of oil-dependent suburban sprawl, an economic and ecological nightmare.
China has 800 million people living in its countryside, so there will be an urgent need for infrastructure investment for another fifteen years, at least. We're talking a country with 661 official cities, and another 1,800 towns about to become cities. Yes, they need to shift away from the export model, but that's a long-term process. They are making progress: pots of money are being shifted to renewable energy, education, green jobs, R & D, health insurance, etc. Retail sales are galloping along at 15% growth rates, huge windfarms are being built, etc.
High-speed rail interlinking Europe and Asia is an idea whose time and technology has come. Hook up those trains to windfarms and hydro plants, and hey presto -- trade and mobility with zero carbon emissions.
-- DRR