Even after China implemented a 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package and vigorously developed infrastructure in 2008, its current infrastructure construction is still not saturated but insufficient, said Lin Yifu, honorary president of the National School of Development at Peking University and former senior vice president of the World Bank, at the Boao Forum in 2013.

The following is the relevant transcript

Lin Yifu: I think this is very important. I believe that debate is very important. Only by pooling everyone's wisdom during the process of debate can we enhance our understanding of the essence of the phenomenon. Personally, I strongly support the need for debate. Debate is always much better than public opinion. Since 2008, due to the international financial crisis, China has introduced a 4-trillion-yuan fiscal policy, during which a considerable amount of infrastructure such as expressways was built. Is China's infrastructure in excess? I think the infrastructure between cities has indeed improved a lot. For instance, China's land area is about the same as that of the United States. The United States has 95,000 kilometers of expressways, while the current expressways on the Chinese mainland are over 90,000 kilometers. Before the first fiscal policy in 1998, when Zhu Rongji first talked about economic and fiscal policies, he also built railways and expressways. In 1998, the total mileage of expressways on the Chinese mainland was 4,700 kilometers, which improved significantly at that time.

Lin Yifu: Is China's infrastructure already saturated? This question is quite simple. Just take the subway in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou and you'll know whether China's infrastructure is insufficient or excessive. Or drive to these major cities. You all know whether China's infrastructure is excessive or insufficient. I believe there is still a lot of room for improvement, but why do I emphasize investment for China's future? I believe that consumption is important, but it cannot serve as the driving force for China's future development. We know that for China's economy to grow, its foundation lies in the continuous improvement of the level of labor productivity. The continuous improvement of the level of labor productivity depends on the constant technological innovation within the existing industries.

(Source: Internet)