Chinese high-speed trains venture overseas

(Xinhua) 14:06, November 03, 2013

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BEIJING, Nov. 3 -- Parallel to the development of domestic high-speed rail, the Chinesegovernment and rail enterprises are actively seeking customers overseas.

In a meeting with a trade ministers from the Association of South East Asian Nations(ASEAN) last week, Premier Li Keqiang thanked them for traveling by high-speed trainfrom south China to Beijing, calling it a real "roadshow" for Chinese high-speed trains.

Thailand, an ASEAN member, plans a high-speed rail network in the next seven years tosatisfy its business and tourism demands.

On a state visit to Thailand in early October, Li pushed China's willingness to participate inthe project, stressing that "railway cooperation can become a new highlight in China-Thailand cooperation". An exhibition of Chinese high-speed rail also kicked off in Bangkokduring his visit.

Not only Thailand, countries including the United States, Russia, Malaysia, Singapore,Brazil and Turkey are mooting their own high-speed rail projects. The Australiangovernment has completed a feasibility study into a proposed high-speed rail route alongits east coast.

With the world's longest operational line for bullet trains that run at more than 200 km perhour, China wants to take part in projects overseas.

"China's high-speed railway is advanced in technology, safe and reliable, and has a costadvantage," Premier Li told Australian Governor-General Quentin Bryce in a meeting inBeijing in mid-October.

Zhou Li, a senior director at China Railway Corporation, said China had learned byabsorbing technology from various countries to create its own technology.

By the end of September, China had nearly 10,000 km of high-speed railway lines inoperation and had solved technical challenges on various complex geographical problems.

History of high-speed rail in China is not long. The first line, linking Beijing and theneighboring port city of Tianjin, was inaugurated in August 2008.

On July 23, 2011, 40 people died when a high-speed train hit a stationary train nearWenzhou, casting a shadow over high-speed railways and leading to a nationwide safetycheck and stagnation of construction.

Last year, China cautiously resumed construction, culminating in the Beijing-Guangzhoulink, the longest of its kind in the world.

Wang Mengshu, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a railway expert,said China stepped up railway system management after the 2011 accident, sticking toconstruction schedules which guaranteed safety.

"High-speed rail now has a more solid foundation." Wang said.

With public confidence recovering, the comfortable cabins and punctuality of the trainshave made it an enormously popular way of travel.

Passenger volume on the Beijing-Shanghai line rose 40 percent during the second year ofoperations.

Thanks to the domestic success, production and construction on a large scale has loweredcosts to about 200 million yuan (33 million U.S. dollars) per km, more competitive thanJapan, UK and Germany, according to Wang Mengshu.

Last week, the state-owned train maker, CSR, announced an Italian order meaningChinese high-speed rail core components are making their way into the European market.

China should become a high-speed train supplier on a more comprehensive level, exportingnot only equipment, but also technology and Chinese railway standards, Wang said.

Li Hongchang, railway expert and economics professor from Beijing Jiaotong University,said high-speed rail "going abroad" is anything but simple. It involves juggling trade,finance and energy concerns and requires efforts from governments on both sides, Li said.

（Editor：LiangJun、Yao Chun）