China’s Edifice Complex

[Excerpt from essay by Ning Leng, Assistant Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University and the author of Politicizing Business: How Firms Are Made to Serve the Party-State in China.] China is suffering from enormous waste. For decades, government officials have built grand, showy projects that prioritize size and appearance over practicality, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability. Projects such as sprawling but underused airports, oversized but empty exhibition ce