rogerluli Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 A look at some aspects of our modern life where China is clearly ahead of the West and why from our old friend, ACB... AngryChineseBlogger... Infrastructure: East Beats West?Sunday, 25 January 2009 While China is often viewed as being a poor neighbor to the West: a rural backwater stuck in a time warp, and while this vision is true for large tracts of China, it is not universally accurate. In fact many Chinese cities enjoy infrastructure networks today that are still years away for their Western counterparts. Strange, but true. Some food for thought from the pen of architect and writer Arrol Gellner who, among other people, has noticed that the playing field between the US and China may be more level than you might think. China bests U.S. in technology infrastructure There's one good thing about a nation developing late and developing fast: It can pretty much pick and choose among all the best ways of doing things.Development In China It is exactly what China, with its vast cash reserves and virtually unlimited labor, is now doing. As a result, it's no longer just playing catch-up with the United States. In many ways, it's playing leapfrog. Technology in China's developed areas - where most of its people live - has long been on par with our own. Internet cafes flourish, and the most sophisticated computers and display systems are ubiquitous in banks, stores and transportation facilities. These things shouldn't surprise Americans, as most of our high-tech goods come from China in the first place. What may surprise people is that some parts of China's infrastructure have already begun to surpass ours. For example, modern China's communications network, developed just as our old hardwired telephone infrastructure was becoming obsolete, is almost entirely cellular. Here, everyone from the high roller in his Mercedes-Benz to the farmer in his rice paddy carries a cell phone. Never has a nation so vast and populous been so well connected. The bulk of China's electrical-distribution system was also built fairly late in the 20th century. For starters, it gives it a definite aesthetic edge: The Chinese use tidy and permanent concrete stanchions to carry power lines instead of the dilapidated wooden poles and tangles of wire that make up much of our own power grid. But even this modern system is advancing. A number of Chinese cities now have plans afoot for complete "undergrounding" of all existing power-distribution systems - a sweeping improvement, which, owing to its cost and complexity, has long eluded municipal governments in the United States. And since the Chinese are loathe to risk a loss of face by announcing plans they can't fulfill, we can fully expect these underground projects to be realized, and sooner rather than later. Chinese traffic controls, mostly developed in the past 30 years, have already led American systems for years. For example, the digital countdown signals only now being adopted by some American cities were already commonplace during my first visit to China in 1994. Moreover, the newest traffic controls have entirely superseded the redundant clutter of red, yellow and green lamps found in the United States. Instead, Suzhou's signals use a compact and attractive stanchion with a single, bold LED arrow that changes color to indicate both traffic direction and status. If you can't quite picture this, don't worry - your town will probably be installing these systems in five or 10 years, and no doubt they'll be made in China. These advances may seem trivial, but they're emblematic of China's spectacular rate of progress over the past 30 years. Now, having largely caught up with the West, the Chinese have both the desire for bigger plans and the resources to fulfill them. Is all this bad news for America? It depends on your point of view. If we're content to be slowly but surely surpassed by the nation we patronizingly call our "workshop," then we can relax. If not, we'd better wake up and smell the tea. On the whole, and as ACB can personally testify, China has a long was to go before it catches up with America. Indeed, in many areas of development China still has a long way to go before the average Chinese catch up with average American of the late 1960s, let alone the average American of today, in terms of the environment in which they live. Even when China appears to be gaining ground on the US you will often find that things may not be all that they seem. What at first glance appears to be modern infrastructure can often turn out to be either a cut price version, or the infrastructure of 10 years ago with a new coat of paint over it. Often one that rubs off to the touch. ACB remember an apartment that they once rented. At first glance it looked like a typical modern apartment. Not unlike that which you might find in Tokyo or New York. But when you looked closer you found that things couldn't be taken at face value. It was all style and no substance. After investigating why the power had gone out ACB found that the ultra modern circuit breaker in the ultra modern looking fuse box were strung together with exposed copper wire that you could quite easily imagine had been salvaged from the building that had stood on the site a few years earlier. And while the place was rigged with both hot running water and air conditioning (The former being rarer than you might think, even in big cities) you had to choose between heating the water and cooling the place down because if you tried to do both at the same time the circuit breakers would often decide that they were having none of it, and would trip out. There were of course ways to stop this from happening, but not ways that would be acceptable in a developed country. One of them, for example, was to unplug the icebox before you turned them on. And don't get ACB started on the state of the wiring, or the wall outlets, or the plumbing. And this was in a modern apartment in the city center. Once you ventured beyond the city limits the veneer of modernity got thinner and thinner until it was gone all together, by which time it was not unusual to see neighborhoods where people were jacking electricity off of local pylon, and where an electric rice cooker was considered posh. With all of this said, the local electricity was carried by underground cables within city limits and by modern gantries outside of them. The little old man who delivered ACBs cooking gas on the back of a bicycle not only had a cell phone but the got better reception on it than ACB used to get in the West. Everybody might have ignored the traffic signals, but they were state of the art intelligent computer controlled LED signals. There was also fast and affordable broadband Internet access that still isn't available to many Americans (Some of the local residential buildings were even rigged with business quality T line and had thier own Local Area Networks running between the apartments), and the cable TV was carried on underground wires rather than the old overhead kind serviced by men up poles whom always give the impression that the only reason that they weren't tapping into your phone line for personal amusement was because they hadn't quite finished listening into your neighbors calls. And this was several years ago. It's all much better now. Not just better than it was, but better than it is in much of America. Today ACB's old home town has a better transport and communications. infrastructure than much of the West has. Contact less pre paid bus passes were the norm several years ago yet they are still in their early phase of introduction in most of the West. The same goes for smart chips on bank cards. ACB had one in China years before they were introduced in Europe, and they still haven't been universally rolled out in America where many banks still use the the older magnetic strip and signature system. The highways are on par with anything in the West, and there is a roaring trade in solar power systems for producing free hot water that outmatches anything that ACB has seen in the West. How can a developing country like China have infrastructure programs that match or exceed the West, you may ask? Well, the answer is simple. It is because China has been able to plow its resources into new infrastructure where there was previously no infrastructure, while the US has had to tie up a considerable amount of capital just to keep the old infrastructure going while the new one is built. The US has to worry about things such as compatibility and service continuity when installing new systems, not to mention the cost of actually developing the new infrastructure technology. China, in contrast, has simply been able to pick the latest technologies out of a catalog and install them. Everything is nice and new, and most importantly, legacy free. The same is also true when it comes to China's manufacturing sector. While some of China's factories look like they might have come from the Three Kingdom's period, others are amongst the most modern in the world, and are equal to anything in the West. New build constructed on virgin ground without having to demolish older factories and without having to worry about handovers and changeovers, plant compatibility, and retraining staff to use the new equipment. Pretty much the same thing was observed in both Japan and Germany after WWII. With their infrastructure destroyed by years of war both nations build everything from scratch, and what they built was often better than the legacy infrastructure being maintained by the victor nations. Thus after an initial period of extreme hardship both Japan and Germany were able to steal a march on their competitors, with Germany becoming the engineering capital of Europe and Japan forging ahead in both engineering and electronics. Of course, China is not yet on a level playing field with the West, particularly in the rural areas (Like the Song Dynasty, but with blue jeans and electric light bulbs), but China is making up ground. Installing new infrastructure while the West is still patching up the old. ACB cannot help but wonders how long it will be before China catches up, and what the West will make of it when it does. It won't be for a while yet, but it is inevitable. http://angrychineseblogger.blog-city.com/ Of course this is all the good news... When you look at what the US has done with environmental controls...air pollution, drinking water treatment, wastewater treatment, etc... Well let's just say that it would take an investment of many trillions of RMB before China could close that gap... Link to comment
Dennis143 Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I always just scratch my head and wonder about these East BEATS West or West is BETTER than East arguments. Both are intertwined economically. The US fiscal mess is a good example of our spreading financial SARS around the world. Link to comment
rogerluli Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I always just scratch my head and wonder about these East BEATS West or West is BETTER than East arguments. Both are intertwined economically. The US fiscal mess is a good example of our spreading financial SARS around the world. Geez Dennis we have to talk about something here or else sit around with our fingers stuck up our... Link to comment
Guest Tony n Terrific Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 China throughout its long history has enjoyed many technological advancements before the West has. One of their many great achievements was the wheel barrow. Link to comment
rogerluli Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I always just scratch my head and wonder about these East BEATS West or West is BETTER than East arguments. Both are intertwined economically. The US fiscal mess is a good example of our spreading financial SARS around the world. Geez Dennis we have to talk about something here or else sit around with our fingers stuck up our... But seriously...From my reading the Chinese are far more interested in making these comparisons than those in the west are...I suppose it's a remnant of the Chinese feeling of inferiority to the west... So now it's important to them to see that they are catching up or are already ahead in certain aspects... Why do I insist on giving people an opening so that they have an excuse to beat me about the head and shoulders anyway??? Link to comment
david_dawei Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I always just scratch my head and wonder about these East BEATS West or West is BETTER than East arguments. Both are intertwined economically. The US fiscal mess is a good example of our spreading financial SARS around the world. Geez Dennis we have to talk about something here or else sit around with our fingers stuck up our... Why do I insist on giving people an opening so that they have an excuse to beat me about the head and shoulders anyway??? maybe because of comments like this... I suppose it's a remnant of the Chinese feeling of inferiority to the west... I don't care who you are... this is funny. yea.... they dubbed themselves the "middle kingdom" due to an long history which left them an inferiority complex compared to the rest of the world Link to comment
Yuanyang Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 There are advantages in starting from scratch (middle ages say) in the late 20th century. Just as things in Europe were more advanced from building up again after WW2. Our disadvantage is that we haven't been bombed into a Stone Age and rebuild up from that. Link to comment
rogerluli Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I always just scratch my head and wonder about these East BEATS West or West is BETTER than East arguments. Both are intertwined economically. The US fiscal mess is a good example of our spreading financial SARS around the world. Geez Dennis we have to talk about something here or else sit around with our fingers stuck up our... Why do I insist on giving people an opening so that they have an excuse to beat me about the head and shoulders anyway??? maybe because of comments like this... I suppose it's a remnant of the Chinese feeling of inferiority to the west... I don't care who you are... this is funny. yea.... they dubbed themselves the "middle kingdom" due to an long history which left them an inferiority complex compared to the rest of the world David lets leave the Middle Kingdom be for a moment can we please... I think it very obvious that over the period of the last 30 years of China's reawakening to the broader world that there has been a feeling of China's being behind the west. Well before that China was known as the "sick man of Asia" because of it's weaknesses. Why else this need to go all out for the Olympics to prove that they were now as advanced as the west? Why the extreme defensive posture by Chinese womyn here whenever any suggestion of bad news about China is presented? Unfortunately our psychologist has left the building but it's as plain as the nose on your face... Link to comment
Finer in China Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I think it very obvious that over the period of the last 30 years of China's reawakening to the broader world that there has been a feeling of China's being behind the west. ESPECIALLY AMONG THE WEST. Why else this need to go all out for the Olympics to prove that they were now as advanced as the west? They did not become "now as advanced" at the Olympics, they beat us. Also beat us at the Special Olympics. Maybe certain people in "the west" feel China has your so-called "need to go all out" because China outdid "the west" in every aspect. Unfortunately our psychologist has left the building but it's as plain as the nose on your face... As plain as those who are still chanting USA! USA! USA! and cursing/threatening the Chinese athletes."Oh say can you see..." http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-08/12/xinsrc_3320805121326593618852.jpghttp://img04.beijing2008.cn/20080813/Img214536436.jpg Link to comment
david_dawei Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 Why the extreme defensive posture by Chinese womyn here whenever any suggestion of bad news about China is presented? it's human nature; if you attack one's ego, they feel slighted... it's just not obvious to many that for chinese, the 'group' is the ego, not the individual... As to the other points... Sorry to say... I don't share such revisionist history ideas... what will they say in 500 years? We are so caught up in worrying about day to day affairs we lose sight that time is man made to help us cope with our limited existence... Link to comment
rogerluli Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I think it very obvious that over the period of the last 30 years of China's reawakening to the broader world that there has been a feeling of China's being behind the west. ESPECIALLY AMONG THE WEST. Why else this need to go all out for the Olympics to prove that they were now as advanced as the west? They did not become "now as advanced" at the Olympics, they beat us. Also beat us at the Special Olympics. Maybe certain people in "the west" feel China has your so-called "need to go all out" because China outdid "the west" in every aspect. Unfortunately our psychologist has left the building but it's as plain as the nose on your face... As plain as those who are still chanting USA! USA! USA! and cursing/threatening the Chinese athletes."Oh say can you see..." Congratulations Oscar...You missed the point completely... B) Link to comment
Finer in China Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 (edited) Congratulations Oscar...You missed the point completely... Oh my, that insult really hurts. B) http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Sport/Pix/pictures/2008/07/07/jonathanferreyG460.jpg Edited January 30, 2009 by oscar (see edit history) Link to comment
rogerluli Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 Congratulations Oscar...You missed the point completely... B)Oh my, that insult really hurts. I was not refering to the athletic competition part of the Olympics...That is largely unimportant in the grand sceme of things...But the successful hosting of the games, the magnificent architecture constructed, the mind-boggling opening and closing ceremonies are what the world will remember... Work for you now??? Link to comment
rogerluli Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 "Never forget our national humiliation..." A popular Chinese slogan... A couple of British gunboats brought the Qing Dynasty to its knees... All the European powers carved out treaty ports...Japan's invasion in WWII...It's pretty surprising to me this somehow escaped you David... http://www.newsweek.com/id/148997 Link to comment
Dan R Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 There are advantages in starting from scratch (middle ages say) in the late 20th century. Just as things in Europe were more advanced from building up again after WW2. Our disadvantage is that we haven't been bombed into a Stone Age and rebuild up from that. That is the problem. We had building booms in the 1950's & 60's. That is post WW2. But it was about fifty years ago. Technology has changed from then and we are not up on it. the country has grown but the infrastructure did not keep up. In the fifties and sixties China also did much building but it was cheap and barely adequate. There was no choice but to replace crumbling infrastructure. We need to stop patching and replace. Maybe then L.A. will stop having rolling blackouts. Link to comment
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