Can China build its way out of climate change?

Huge construction projects are transforming China - think enormous dams, giant solar power farms and a vast high-speed rail network. Will Beijing's "engineering mindset" help it deal with climate change?

China's senior leadership is dominated by engineers, starting with President Xi, who trained as a chemical engineer in the 1970s. They have overseen megaprojects like the 50-kilometre bridge joining Hong Kong and Macau, and a plan to move water from southern China to the much drier north.

The engineering mania extends to energy, where the world's largest polluter has invested trillions of dollars in wind and nuclear power, as well as high voltage transmission lines spanning the country.

But China still uses a huge amount of coal power, and its mega projects have often damaged the local environment and led to the displacement of millions.

So what does Beijing's approach mean for climate change? And can China build its way out of the problem?

In this edition of The Climate Question Host Jordan Dunbar and BBC Presenter Celia Hatton talk to Dan Wang, the author of Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future. Dan is currently a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.

Producer: Jordan Dunbar and Melanie Stewart-Smith Sound Mix: Johnny Hall and Tom Brignell Editor: Simon Watts

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