Chinese President Xi Jinping Surprises Crowd With 5-Second Speech for $20 Billion Sea Bridge
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![Carl Samson](https://nextshark.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/CARLSAMSON_NEXTSHARK.jpg?width=128&auto_optimize=medium&quality=85)
By Carl Samson
Xi Jinping Surprises With Two-Second Announcement of World’s Longest Sea Bridge
Chinese President Xi Jinping surprised his nation when he announced the opening of the world’s longest sea bridge in just a few seconds on Tuesday.
Xi broke the news from the port city of Zhuhai, one of the cities linked by the 55-kilometer (34-mile) structure projected to serve 40,000 travelers a day.
Last year, Xi opened the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) with a three-hour and 23-minute speech regarding a new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
As such, observers believe that the Chinese president was “strangely curt” in launching the bridge, which took nine years and cost $20 billion to build.
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Additionally, nine people died and 200 more sustained injuries over the course of its construction that started in 2009.
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After his announcement, Xi left the podium as members of the audience — including Vice Premier Han Zheng and Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam — clapped on their chairs.
Meanwhile, viewers at home were left with electronic fireworks that flashed on TV.
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If anything, Xi may be letting the gargantuan project speak for itself. The bridge, some 20 times longer than California’s Golden Gate, aims to serve a Silicon Valley rival known as the “Greater Bay Area.”
It also aims to facilitate a “one country, two systems” framework, which grants Hong Kong and Macau a degree of autonomy.
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Built with 420,000 tons of steel, the structure is resistant to winds with speeds of up to 211 miles per hour and is expected to last for more than a century.
It is currently open to shuttles, trucks and private vehicles with permits.
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