Page "Transport in China" Paragraph 76

Some economic experts have argued that the development gap between China and other emerging economies such as Brazil, Argentina and India can be attributed to a large extent to China's early focus on ambitious infrastructure projects, notably mass transport and transit related projects.

While China invested roughly 9 % of its GDP on infrastructure in the 1990s and 2000s, most emerging economies invested only 2 % to 5 % of their GDP.

This considerable spending gap allowed the Chinese economy to grow at near optimal conditions while many South American economies suffered from various development bottlenecks ( poor transportation networks, aging power grids, mediocre schools ...).