China's high-speed rail’s costly expansion has implications for US development

China’s high-speed rail network, poised to exceed 30,000 miles of track, illustrates the country’s ambitious infrastructure strategy, driven by heavy government investment, reports the Wall Street Journal. Under Xi Jinping, the project expanded far beyond initial plans, showcasing the Communist Party’s focus on collective progress through state spending. While the rail network has become a symbol of national pride, it comes with significant costs: over $1 trillion in liabilities and questions about its economic sustainability as ridership struggles to meet expectations in sparsely populated areas.

China’s approach contrasts sharply with US infrastructure efforts, particularly under President Biden’s economic development agenda, which emphasizes broad investments in clean energy, manufacturing, and transportation. Biden’s Build Back Better vision includes high-speed rail, but progress has been limited. The California high-speed rail project—linking Los Angeles to San Francisco—has faced delays, cost overruns exceeding $100 billion, and political resistance.

Like China’s network, US rail proposals face scrutiny over cost-effectiveness. China’s extensive network has areas of redundancy, such as duplicative routes in rural provinces, and maintenance costs that risk overwhelming local governments already burdened by debt. Meanwhile, Biden’s proposals for expanded rail service highlight the challenge of balancing symbolic infrastructure projects with practical need, long-term sustainability, and private-sector partnerships.