China Exporting its Infrastructure Expertise

"Chinese money is building power plants in Pakistan to address chronic electricity shortages, part of an expected $46 billion worth of investment," Jane Perlez and Yufan Huang reports for The New York Times. This is just one of a myriad projects that will total a trillion dollars in spending, on infrastructure outside of China. "President Xi Jinping of China is literally and figuratively forging ties, creating new markets for the country’s construction companies and exporting its model of state-led development in a quest to create deep economic connections and strong diplomatic relationships."

After decades of fast growth, China has the capacity to produce more steel and concrete than they need, so they're taking that expertise and capability and using it to fuel what their officials have called globalization 2.0. "Mr. Xi is rolling out a more audacious version of the Marshall Plan, America’s postwar reconstruction effort," Perlez and Huang write.