"Chinese Construction Companies Go Global: Evolving Know-How And Low Costs Help Firms Score Contracts Abroad," by David Murphy, Wall Street Journal, 12 May, p. B10.

The Chinese are coming! The Chinese are coming! To a construction site near you. Last year Chinese construction companies won almost $20B in overseas contracts, and weíre talking Nigeria, Malaysia, Iran, and . . . Harlem. Projects in roughly 180 countries in all, which is just about everywhere in a world of 192 UN member states.

These construction companies cut their teeth in building up Hong Kong all those years, and now theyíre looking to establish their reputations in the U.S., by doing things like winning a share of the $1b make-over of the UN headquarters in NYC.

But to win the really beeeeeeeg contracts, experts predict that Chinese construction companies will have to become more like Western firms in terms of obtaining financing and integrating innovative technologies into their construction methods.

Yes, yes. Connectivity requires code, as do new buildings. China the near-peer keeps rising. Forget the submarines, check out the skyscrapers!