Why China Is So Bad at Doing Big Things
The country has a reputation for accomplishing impossible tasks. But its strengths only work in certain cases.
China has only qualified for the World Cup once.
Photographer: Francois Nel/Getty Images
Countries around the world are awed by China’s ability to marshal its national resources and do big, seemingly impossible things. Exhibit A is usually its construction of the world’s largest high-speed rail network — 23,500 miles long — in barely a decade.
Yet both China and its admirers would do well to study the country’s equally massive missteps. In case after case, leaders in Beijing have identified top national priorities and lavished them with support. And time after time, this “whole-of-nation” effort (juguo tizhi), meant to mobilize the talent and resources of a giant country, has led only to waste, graft and failure.