There was a 60 Minutes over a decade ago about the economic collapse awaiting China. It showed large apartment buildings and massive freeways that were underutilized, with foreboding narration saying that it was a sign of corruption among real estate developers or officials or something. In light of the 2008 collapse I think it was projection and coping about the continual failures of neoliberal capitalism, and reflective of the common western worldview that sees China as a scheming villain.