US Benefits From China Stimulus

While Americans await the fruits of their $787 billion bailout, China is moving ahead with public-works projects at a staggering pace, pumping up its own economy as well as America’s, the Wall Street Journal reports. US industrial-equipment makers, struggling with effectively zero domestic growth, are back near record levels in China, where, for example a $930 million bridge project began just 11 days after approval.

China has a backlog of “shovel-ready” projects for its $585 billion stimulus, popularizing a new buzzword: jiakuai, or “build it quick.” The boom has also bolstered US steelmakers, increasing demand and keeping Chinese steel from flooding foreign markets. Construction isn’t the only beneficiary: Yum Brands, parent of KFC and Pizza Hut, opened 98 new restaurants in China in the first quarter, with 475 planned this year. (More China stories.)