[Marsymars]

> China seems perfectly able to build out large infrastructure projects with a land area smaller than that of the continentenal USA

China has a land area greater than the USA. (Continental or otherwise.)

[usui]

Not true. China 9.6 million square kilometers, USA 9.8 million square kilometers, contiguous 8.1 million.

[Marsymars]

You're presumably looking at a source that's including water area. When talking about land area, China > USA > Canada. (As opposed to when including water area, Canada > USA > China)

[usui]

Yeah you're right. Good distinction.

[momoschili]

sure, we can neglect the water, but the USA has much more usable flat land than China, and that is a pretty inarguable point.