China shows what real growth means today

While the UK and other Western countries are struggling with slow infrastructure and housing construction, China has demonstrated a pace of development unparalleled in the world over the past few decades. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is making his first visit to China in this role at a time when differences in approach to growth and long-term planning cannot be overlooked, writes Ian Ritchie.

The author describes his own experience of travelling in China, which he visited for the first time in twenty years. What was once a country filled with bicycles has become a country with cities full of cars, many of which are electric vehicles operated by domestic manufacturers. It is electromobility that is one of the symbols of the technological shift that China has been able to make in a short space of time.

In the two decades that the UK has failed to build a single high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham, China has built a network of some 31,000 miles. This now connects more than 550 cities and serves almost all cities with a population over 500,000. The author describes a journey by modern train travelling at over 200 miles per hour from Beijing towards the northern city of Harbin, some 770 miles away.

A similar contrast is evident in air transport. While the UK has long failed to expand airport capacity, China has built around 130 new airports over the same period. The difference in road infrastructure is even starker. China has built around 96,000 miles of high-quality highways and expressways, creating a network that is roughly twice the size of the US Interstate Highway System.

Moreover, large-scale projects are often carried out in challenging mountainous terrain. An example is the Yaxi Expressway, known as the „Sky-High Road“, which includes hundreds of bridges and dozens of tunnels. These structures illustrate the technical sophistication and execution capability that China has long demonstrated in infrastructure.

Housing has undergone an even more significant transformation. While the UK is aiming for 250,000 dwellings a year, China has built around 170 million dwellings in the last twenty years. The average size of housing has increased from about 10 to 40 square metres, and the vast majority of these apartments are owned by the residents themselves. According to the author, this has fundamentally changed the quality of life for hundreds of millions of people, of whom around 800 million have been lifted out of poverty.

Modernisation is not limited to infrastructure and housing. Innovation is visible in everyday life, from autonomous vehicles to hotel services provided by robots. This technological shift is the result of long-term strategic management that differs significantly from Western models of political leadership.

The author points out that the Chinese leadership has long been made up of mostly technically educated professionals. By the turn of the millennium, all members of the Politburo Standing Committee had a technical background, which translated into massive infrastructure development. Today, the leadership is also more focused on economics and social sciences to manage the transition to a service and innovation-based economy.

China has built a strong position in rare minerals, wind power, batteries and other technologies key to the energy transition. At the same time, it is investing massively in basic research and strengthening its position in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, nuclear fusion and medicine. According to Sir Paul Nurse, the UK is looking increasingly backward compared to this pace of development.

Combined with geopolitical changes and the weakening of the scientific base in the United States, China is becoming the only economy that can truly compete with Silicon Valley. With a share of around 30 % in world manufacturing and a growing influence in key technology sectors, its role in the global economy can no longer be ignored.

While the 20th century is often described as American, developments in recent years suggest that the 21st century may be marked primarily by China.

CMG