Western media paints European failure as an “experience”, but Chinese failure as a “socialist defeat”

We are pleased to publish the following article, submitted by Bhabani Shankar Nayak, arguing that Western media coverage of the partial collapse of the Hongqi Bridge in Sichuan exemplifies a longstanding ideological bias: while infrastructure failures in Europe or the US are treated as isolated events, any such setback in China is framed as evidence of systemic “socialist failure.”

Bhabani notes that the Hongqi Bridge—built in a mountainous, landslide-prone region—collapsed without casualties thanks to rapid local action, yet Western outlets seized on the incident to discredit Chinese engineering.

The author counters that China’s record in infrastructure construction is unparalleled. Under CPC leadership, China has built more than a million modern bridges; 90 of the world’s 100 tallest 21st-century bridges are Chinese. Despite challenging terrain, China has created an integrated national transport system, with over half of its high-speed rail network running on bridges. Provinces such as Guizhou and Chongqing—home to tens of thousands of bridges each—illustrate the scale of this achievement.

This success, Bhabani argues, is largely invisible to Western media due to colonial legacies, anticommunism, and an imperialist refusal to acknowledge China’s surpassing of Europe and the US across numerous development indicators. While Western states face declining infrastructure, rising homelessness, eroding labour rights, and deteriorating public services, China has normalised people-centred development in areas such as food security, healthcare, housing, and education.

Bhabani considers that portraying Chinese setbacks as systemic defeat serves to shield Western capitalism from scrutiny and to prevent Western publics from engaging with China’s developmental model. He calls for European and US media to decolonise their perspectives and recognise that learning from mistakes—rather than obscuring them—is central to China’s ongoing progress.

Bhabani Shankar Nayak is a Professor of Business Management at London Metropolitan University. He is the author or editor of numerous books and articles on China and other issues related to development in the Global South.

Every major mainstream media outlet in Europe and the US has reported on the collapse of the recently completed 758-metre-long Hongqi Bridge in the city of Maerkang, located in China’s southwestern Sichuan province. The bridge, which was part of a national highway connecting the country’s heartland with Tibet, collapsed on November 11, 2025. Local authorities promptly closed the bridge to all traffic, and no casualties were reported thanks to timely precautionary measures. The bridge had been built in a challenging mountainous region where landslides had caused cracks in nearby slopes and roads, ultimately leading to its partial collapse. However, Western media outlets and their capitalist commentators quickly blamed “Chinese engineering and its faulures” and “failure of copied designs,” seeking to undermine China’s development and discredit Chinese expertise and achievements.

Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the People’s Republic of China has built more than one million modern bridges. Remarkably, 90 of the world’s 100 tallest bridges constructed in the 21st century are located in China. The country is home to both the world’s highest bridges and the longest sea-crossing bridges, most of which have been built within the past seven decades. Despite the fact that nearly 67 percent of China’s terrain is mountainous—with vast areas of mountains, hills, and plateaus—Chinese engineers have successfully developed an integrated and comprehensive transport and communication network. This infrastructure has been central to China’s unprecedented growth and development. Over half of China’s high-speed rail lines run on bridges, reflecting the country’s engineering ingenuity and determination to overcome natural challenges.

Yet, these remarkable achievements remain largely invisible to the capitalist media outlets of Europe and the US. The colonial legacies of Western media still prevent them from acknowledging that China has surpassed Europe and the United States in nearly every measure of human development and scientific advancement. China stands out in the world for its modern infrastructural development, achieved without any form of colonial or imperialist plunder that historically shaped infrastructure development in Europe and America.

From the ancient Anji Bridge to the newly constructed and partially collapsed Hongqi Bridge, China’s bridges stand as a testament to the nation’s ingenuity and commitment to the infrastructure boom of the past seven decades, aimed at connecting every part of the country with its people and resources. China has the highest number of bridges in the world. Guizhou Province alone has more than 32,000 bridges, including nearly half of the world’s 100 tallest bridges, while Chongqing—often called the “bridge capital of the world”—boasts over 20,000 bridges across its rivers and lakes. One failure does not define Chinese defeat.

Architectural marvels, creativity, and innovation define Chinese engineering, which has been shaped, supported, and led by the Chinese state. Yet these achievements remain invisible to the “priests” of capitalist mass media, who continue to promote ideologically driven narratives that seek to undermine the creativity and accomplishments of the Chinese people.

Both capitalist Europe and US have failed to ensure food security; their health infrastructures are collapsing, homelessness is on the rise, and “hire-and-fire” labour policies continue to undermine human potential for meaningful employment. Public infrastructure—roads, transport, and communication systems—is deteriorating, productivity is declining, and widespread disillusionment has taken hold among working people. Across the West, states and governments continue to serve the interests of the capitalist class at the expense of both people and the planet.

In contrast, China has normalised people-centred progress, prosperity, and security in essential areas such as food, health, housing, and education—thanks to a state and government that prioritise the welfare of the people. Over the past seven decades, China’s development miracle stands as a model worthy of acknowledgment and emulation.

However, colonial knowledge traditions and an imperialist sense of superiority—without any real substance—prevent European and American media from accurately reporting the truth about China’s growth and development. Undermining China, its people, and their achievements does not address the real issues of holding European and American states accountable or advancing citizenship rights and democratic development in those countries. It is high time for European and US media to decolonise their minds, hearts, and practices, moving away from ideologically driven unfounded propaganda.

From banking crises to privatised poor communication networks, Europe and the US are trailing behind China, which has managed to develop world-class public infrastructure. Europe and the US have failed their people by pursuing a capitalist path that denies development to the working masses. European failures cannot be reduced to isolated, event-driven experiences, and Chinese setbacks do not equate to Chinese defeats. China learns from its mistakes, acknowledges them, and continues on a path of progress, whereas European experiences are often narrowed to aberrant, isolated events that prevent ruling classes from being held accountable to the people. In contrast, the Chinese state and government remain focused on long-term development and public welfare.

The narrative promoting that “European failure is an experience, but Chinese failure is a socialist or Chinese defeat” is part of a colonial, imperialist, and racist strategy designed to undermine the people and protect capitalism at their expense. Moreover, the distorted portrayal of China by European media is not accidental; it is a deliberate decision designed to keep European and American populations detached from the revolutionary ideals that drive China’s growth and development for the benefit of its people.