The Verge (h/t Instapundit) reports that China has, in the past, claimed over 50,000 rivers within its borders, but a recently completed survey showed only 22,909 rivers as of 2011--leaving 28,000 rivers that have disappeared. Although some of the discrepancy may be due to poor surveying in the past, the article makes clear that China is suffering severe shortages of water, mostly due to overpopulation and pollution. Reservoir projects to control flooding have also contributed to rivers drying up in some areas.
China's competitive edge is not only lower wages (which, itself, is largely the illusory result of monetary controls), but because it can externalize many costs by simply dumping waste or emitting pollutants--practices not allowed in the U.S. or Europe. However, externalizing costs doesn't mean they go away, as the pollution and other ecological problems show.
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