Are you talking about the same U.S.Virgin Islands where Trump said he met with their President? How did that turn out anyway? $500M for a territory that is subsidized to the tune of about a billion dollars a year now...only to have the 4th highest murder rate in the world if it was a county! Seems that early 1900s diplomatic techniques weren't a great idea then and aren't now. And thanks, but there are far more pleasant places in the Caribbean I go to relax, clearly you haven't spent a lot of time in the USVI!
The source is I think CNN news line which I did not click to read. Still you answered your own question, the economic miracle in China is only in the Shanghai and coastal areas, rural where 3/4th of population lives is still 30 years behind.
Electric planes are just around the corner, so cost of air transportation is going to further decrease. No need for coast to coast rail deals, possible air tickets for same distance might get cheaper.
Imagine a high speed train stopping in the little towns every 200 miles with no waiting passengers. It would only work with no intermediate stops between highly populated areas. For example DC to Manhattan 220 miles. May need to put in a stop in Philadelphia. I'm sure they did the analysis and it doesn't work.
Lol, my own answer had me think that number might not be far from the reality actually, might research the issue a bit more later on. Fwiw, in a city like Shenzhen, part of it is very modern and extremely wealthy, but overall it still feels very much like a developing country. Medecine is quite amazing, one read regularly of world class and beyond research and experiments, yet healthcare is decades behind the West, and there are no private hospitals like in other developing asian countries where one can pay more and get decent care, just small private clinics which offer better attention following more western guidelines but are not equipped for any complex procedures. Besides anything older than 20 years, and sometimes even younger, looks incredibly rundown, it was really not meant to last. Poor quality of life, a good instance of a place where money doesn´t buy hapiness ime, especially if you don´t buy into the patriotic chest beating.
That´s the idea of a high speed trains, in France the busiest route is probably Paris-Lyon, a 400km/250miles stretch without stop, in a bit under 2 hours
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-company-debuts-worlds-first-all-electric-plane/ It carries nine passengers and two crewmen. Its range is currently limited to around 1,000 kilometers (600 miles), but for short distances, the company hopes it can cut down operating costs to somewhere around one-fifth of current rates.
Thx for the inputs, have not been to China so good information. It makes me conclude that China is fruitlessly trying to play cold war 2.0 vrs the US or trying to do what Soviet Union did in a deceptive and self betraying manner. China making South China sea islands, trying to expand into Greenland or invest heavily into Africa is all "Cold War" type commie expansionist mindset and waste of money and resources. Just like the Soviets they will fudge the economic books until it all crashes on them.