Traffic jams in China

The key economic indicator.  Here is a texas expert:

Another critical difference between China and the U.S is the maturity of our highway systems. While China’s relatively young highway system resembles the U.S Interstate network, the country lacks the smaller state and county roads that offer U.S drivers alternative routes when they are slowed by traffic congestion. Taking the back roads just isn’t an option in many cases.

“There isn’t the redundancy we take for granted here,” says Turner, adding that statistics indicate the traffic situation around Beijing is still getting worse. It could take years to get traffic under control as about 1,900 vehicles are added to Beijing’s street each day according to Texas Transportation Institute estimates. WSJ