China plans to bid for contracts to build US high-speed train lines and is stepping up exports of rail technology to Europe and Latin America, a government official said on Saturday.
China has built 6,500km of high-speed rail for its own train system and US President Barack Obama issued a pledge in November with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) to cooperate in developing the technology.
“We are organizing relevant companies to participate in bidding for US high-speed railways,” Wang Zhiguo (王志國), a deputy railways minister, told a news conference.
Wang gave no details of where China’s railway builders might seek contracts, but systems are planned in California, Florida and Illinois. He said state-owned Chinese companies were building high-speed lines in Turkey and Venezuela.
Beijing plans to construct a 25,000km high-speed rail network by 2020 in a 2 trillion yuan (US$300 billion) project it hopes will spur economic and technology development. A new line linking the central city of Wuhan with Guangzhou near Hong Kong is billed as the world’s fastest at 380kph.
China produces high-speed trains using French, German and Japanese technology. Its manufacturers have developed a homegrown version, but have yet to produce a commercial model.
Chinese rail authorities have signed cooperation memos with California and Russia and state companies plan to bid on a line in Brazil linking Rio de Janeiro with Sao Paulo, Wang said. He said Saudi Arabia and Poland also have expressed interest.
The White House announced US$8 billion in grants in January for rail projects including the high-speed systems in California, Florida and Illinois.
“China is willing to share its mature and advanced technology with other countries to promote development of the world’s high-speed railways,” Wang said.
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