I came across a startling assertion in the NY Times last night on my way home from work and I have not been able to get it out of my mind. Let me put it in context first, I'm sure you are all aware that China is in the midst of a super hot economic boom. Not news to anybody following the papers, right? In fact, all of the discussion of late has been about how China is going to try to slow the expansion down, to create a soft landing without bringing the whole thing down like a pack of cards. As I said, I've been aware of this been perhaps did not fully understand the significance of the boom. That changed last night. The article in the Times was about the building of a new opera house, or something like it, and the reporter noted that since 2000, floor space in China has doubled. This was without reference to any statistic or any support, but, taking it at face value anyway, this is staggering! I cannot really wrap my mind around it. They doubled the size of the entire built environment in 3.5 years! Can anyone really comprehend the significance of that? No wonder they want to cool things down. How can anything continue at that pace?
Posted by Random Penseur at June 16, 2004 07:54 AM