The questions regarding contemporary China are fairly simple: Will it be merely an imitator or develop into an originator? Will it just appropriate or actually innovate? I’ve put up posts before about China’s Broad Sustainable Building Corporation, which is leading the way in erecting quick and clean high-rises. From Kathryn Blaze Carlson’s rather breathless National Post article about Broad’s latest and greatest project and China’s so-called tech prowess, which is far from a proven commodity:

“When Pierre Beaudet was told about a Chinese corporation’s plans to build the world’s tallest building in record speed — 2,749 soaring feet in just 90 days — the global studies professor marvelled Thursday: ‘Ah. There’s nothing they can’t do.’

Having already revolutionized construction by literally stacking factory-made modules like Lego blocks, Broad Sustainable Building Corporation is sending the world a message — not just about itself, but also about its home country: Make no mistake, China is an epicentre of technological progress and a nation worthy of awe.

‘It’s a symbol of their new superiority,’ said Takashi Fujitani, the director of Asia Pacific studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs’ Asian Institute in Toronto. ‘Modernity today is really about speed in a lot of ways, so being at the top of the world is about being able to do things fast.’

Decades ago, the United States and Russia flexed their muscles in a politically charged race to the moon; today, China is racing for the clouds. The phrase ‘the rise of China’ is uttered so often it is almost cliched, but if Broad is successful, the country will literally rise above any other.”