As China's economy matures, it trades speed for build quality on big projects
China is more willing to accept delays in building equipment and infrastructure to ensure quality
The delays keep piling up. China's first large passenger jet, the C919, will not make its maiden flight until next year. Third-generation nuclear reactors in Zhejiang, the first of their kind in the world, will need at least two more years to come on stream. And the scheduled completion date of the nation's first full-scale space station has been changed from "around 2020" to "around 2022".
A speed-at-all-costs attitude led to the completion of the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower project, in 2006 - a year ahead of schedule. A 1,300km high-speed rail line between Beijing and Shanghai that was due to take five years was finished in just over half that time.
But the hasty construction of the dam led to landslides and the forced relocation of 300,000 people. And while state media lauded the rail project as yet another "China miracle", electrical failures and subsidence under the tracks prompted much public criticism. Less than a month after it opened, two high-speed passenger trains collided near Wenzhou, killing 40 people and injuring nearly 200, igniting global concerns about the safety of the Chinese technology.
Most administrations must find a balance between speed and quality on big projects. And China's increasing willingness to accept delays is "an indicator of economic maturity", said economics professor Hu Xingdou , of Beijing University of Technology. "Most large projects in the West suffer delays," he said.
Economics professor Zhao Jian, from Beijing Jiaotong University, calls it the "new normal" - a term used by President Xi Jinping in May during a trip to Henan province. "We must boost our confidence, adapt to the new normal condition based on the characteristics of China's economic growth in the current phase and stay cool-minded," Xi said at the time.