When China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, that one move set off the largest capital spending boom the world had ever seen. Investments in factories, machinery, housing and other long-term assets rose from roughly $360 billion in 2000 to $3.2 trillion by 2010. Adjusted for inflation, cumulative Chinese fixed investment over that decade totaled about $20 trillion. In the process, China reshaped global trade, commodities, inflation, labor markets and politics for a generation.
Today, another investment surge of comparable magnitude is underway, but most people are still assuming it’s a technology sector story. They shouldn’t. The artificial intelligence buildout now rivals China’s post-WTO investment boom in scale, and its consequences will extend far beyond the tech sector.
