For my Substack, I wrote about the Chinese highway system and the unique role I think it plays in the poverty alleviation campaign.
I'll summarize some key points here, but if you're into these topics, do read the whole thing:
crossingtheriver.substack.com
I'll summarize some key points here, but if you're into these topics, do read the whole thing:
crossingtheriver.substack.com
It's kind of "common sense" in China that if a region is poor and underdeveloped, it must be very remote and/or have poor transportation. Other factors apply too, but roads appear to be a common theme.
I expect HSR plays more of a role in ratcheting China's middle-income consumers up the slope to moderate prosperity; roadbuilding and especially highways deserve more of the credit for supporting and enabling poverty alleviation.
Connecting roads allows tourism, easier job seeking, and better prices for rural products.
But care must be taken to avoid the roads from creating the opposite intended effect: hollowing out the rural areas and causing everyone to leave for the city. Tourism is key IMO.
But care must be taken to avoid the roads from creating the opposite intended effect: hollowing out the rural areas and causing everyone to leave for the city. Tourism is key IMO.
I engaged in tourism via car on my recent trip in Yunnan and Sichuan, visiting places via highway travel that I would have had to skip before, because it just wasn't that convenient, or would have chewed up too much of my limited vacation time to visit.
I even skipped places that I really wanted to visit, because it was just too time-consuming to get there.
These rural highways are really expensive and have poor ROI.
But it's not realistic to expect all infrastructure investments to be profitable, and too cynical to write them off purely as GDP boosters - these are also humane investments.
In fact, some highways are clearly being built because they will help connect impoverished regions (aside from being good for GDP).
And while I don't think the highway will "fix" everything wrong with an impoverished region, it will at least give it a chance to fix its problems, while its chances of doing that without outside connections are slim.
I enjoyed researching and writing this piece, which was my first time ever using ChatGPT to support essay-writing. It's a lousy research tool, but really amazing for organizing arguments and pre-empting counter-arguments. If you're using it in the right way, it's pretty cool.
And, like, I said, if you enjoyed the synopsis here, go read the full piece on Substack.
Despite the current stupid situation between Substack and Twitter, I intend to keep writing there for China rural development and travel content.
crossingtheriver.substack.com
Despite the current stupid situation between Substack and Twitter, I intend to keep writing there for China rural development and travel content.
crossingtheriver.substack.com
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