Chinese exports of railway technology facing obstacles
April 3, 2017 Category Travel, Weekly
China’s ambitious strategy to export its high-speed railway technology is facing various obstacles, according to analysts. Construction of high-speed railways abroad is part of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative to increase trade and infrastructure links with countries from Asia to Africa, but most of the current rail projects have stalled. “There is no case of China exporting high-speed rail that can be described as very successful. The situation is very undesirable,” said Dou Xin, Spokeswoman for CRRC Qingdao Sifang. The company is one of China’s biggest locomotive and rolling stock manufacturers, and had planned to build a bullet train for a high-speed rail project in Mexico. The plan was aborted after Mexico canceled the 210-km rail link in 2015 in budget cuts. “The biggest obstacle for countries that have signed deals with China is the lack of financial strength. High-speed railways and bullet trains are unimaginable expensive,” said Dou. “Even though Chinese technology is highly cost-effective when compared to other countries, it’s still too costly for many.” The high-speed railway linking Jakarta to Bandung in Indonesia was suspended in January last year. The USD5.1 billion joint-venture project only received its operational permit last month, taking a step closer to resuming construction. China had a 124,000 km rail network as of the end of last year, and the world’s largest high-speed one covering more than 22,000 km. The length of high-speed railways in operation will be increased to 30,000 km by 2020, connecting more than 80% of the nation’s big cities, the South China Morning Post reports.
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