bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Richard Yarrow

May brought sobering news for China’s economy. Investment spending represents close to half of China’s GDP, and is elevated by the real estate sector, which some scholars suggest drives nearly a third of economic activity.
Reports of a 47 per cent fall in property sales and a 44 per cent drop in new construction projects are ominous for the 2022 growth prospects of an economy heavily reliant on such investments.
But those who say China’s age of construction is over should consider the country’s still-vast need for new infrastructure. A few choice capital investments can help rebalance the economy away from investment spending in the long term, towards the goal of consumer-powered “internal circulation”.
For two decades, investment spending and exports have contributed an unusually large share of China’s GDP. By official counts, household consumption has hovered around 30 to 40 per cent of GDP, compared with over 50 per cent in much of the West. Even during 1940s rationing, the US and Britain never experienced private consumption rates that low.
Overreliance on exports and investment spending brings risks. Ploughing resources into construction, while normal consumers have little money to spend, is likely to lead to wasteful investments.
Depending on exports means relying on gains in purchasing power in China’s main export markets, like the US. At some point, China will feel pressure to pivot to relying on an active consumer economy to generate demand and propel new growth.
Many past major capital investments – in factories, shipbuilding and ports, for instance – have benefited industrial exporters. Yet there remain many underappreciated potential investments that can quickly benefit average households.
By improving quality of life and creating efficiencies for citizens, China could help unleash greater consumer spending, sustain new service businesses and ensure that the workforce grows more productive even as it ages.

China needs new water infrastructure. Climate change and industrial pollution present serious threats to existing water supplies. So far, households have borne many of the costs (such as through worse health and less clean-water access) of China’s freshwater shortages. Vast investments and tightened regulations could mitigate these problems.
Yet China’s investments in water, environmental and public facilities management grew only 0.2 per cent in 2020. Fiscal attention should be focused in particular on urban areas. China is among a shrinking number of countries in Asia where urban residents lack access to high-quality tap water.
Between the 1960s and 1990s, Seoul built purification plants that guaranteed decades of cheap potable tap water to residents. With reallocated spending and the benefit of new technology, China could achieve such milestones in a much faster time frame.
Every country arguably underinvests in zero-carbon energy. In 2020, renewable and nuclear energy comprised about 33 per cent of China’s electricity production and 15-20 per cent of overall energy consumption. China could gain from further clean energy investments, especially given widespread electricity shortages in 2021.


China still has a great need for construction that supports more “mundane” public services. Covid-19 has emphasised the world’s need for better health infrastructure. In China, regional disparities in medical resources remain large.
In 2019, annual healthcare spending was around 4,000 yuan per person in Beijing, while in rural parts of Guizhou or Yunnan, it was below 1,000 yuan a year. The gap extends to buildings and equipment.
In 2020, Beijing (with a population of 22 million) had roughly as many specialised hospitals as Heilongjiang, Chongqing, Fujian, Jiangxi or Guangxi (each with populations of 30-50 million). Likewise, Beijing has more community health service centres than 19 other Chinese provinces or regions.
China has similar potential to improve education infrastructure. Even in wealthy coastal cities, many teachers and students hold classes in ageing facilities with limited ventilation and temperature controls.
In many counties and lower-tier cities, students have to contend with crowded facilities. In 2020, Beijing schools reported an average of 29 students per class for the last year of secondary school; in Henan and Guangxi, that figure was over 50 students per class.

Existing housing could be updated and better utilised. Many older buildings are poorly suited for the elderly or people with disabilities. Construction and renovation geared towards these sectors would foster a fairer society better prepared for demographic shifts.
Existing well-equipped facilities tend to be in wealthier areas; for example, Beijing has more beds in elderly care institutions than 15 other regions of China.
The average Chinese city-dweller has around 40 sq m of home space – some 10-20 per cent less than the average person in New York City. Crowded housing is not an inevitable fact of urban life: Manhattan today has far more skyscrapers but almost 30 per cent fewer people than in 1910.
Why middle-class growth, consumption are key to China’s economic success
Large Chinese cities have many opportunities to upgrade existing housing or convert underutilised buildings into larger flats. Doing so could raise quality of life and motivate consumer activity. The need and potential are greatest among the millions of migrant and working-class families.
Of course, it is always possible to build too much of a good thing. Urban planners should be careful not to create schools and hospitals at scales and in locations where they can never be properly used. But amid the recent lockdown stresses, China has a chance to revive construction and equitably rebalance the economy at the same time.
These goals could be achieved by prioritising investments that focus on supporting broad public services, lifting household living standards, and creating infrastructure from which the poor and middle classes can quickly benefit.
Richard Yarrow is a fellow in the Mossavar-Rahmani Center at Harvard Kennedy School and a visiting research fellow in the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore


China’s age of construction is far from over, given the need for infrastructure to improve quality of life and revive the economy

Illustration: Craig Stephens

People walk past a construction site in Beijing’s central business area, on December 13, 2019. Photo: Reuters

Pupils attend a lesson at a village primary school in a rural area of Dahua Yao Autonomous County, in China’s southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on November 11, 2019. Photo: Xinhua

Opinion

Comment

Knowledge

China Macro Economy


While infrastructure investments once centred on the export economy, a shift to improving lifestyles can boost consumption and help Beijing achieve its dual circulation goal
There is still a huge need for less-crowded housing and classrooms, new water supply systems and decarbonisation technology



While infrastructure investments once centred around the export economy, a shift to improving quality of life can boost consumption and push China towards its dual circulation goal. There is still a huge need for less-crowded housing and classrooms, new water supply systems and decarbonisation technology.


China economy

China GDP

China's economic recovery

Infrastructure

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Opinion | China’s age of construction is far from over, given the need for infrastructure to improve quality of life and revive the economy

While infrastructure investments once centred on the export economy, a shift to improving lifestyles can boost consumption and help Beijing achieve its dual circulation goal There is still a huge need for less-crowded housing and classrooms, new water supply systems and decarbonisation technology

While infrastructure investments once centred on the export economy, a shift to improving lifestyles can boost consumption and help Beijing achieve its dual circulation goal

There is still a huge need for less-crowded housing and classrooms, new water supply systems and decarbonisation technology