Chinese companies prepare to modernize rail systems globally

Chinese companies prepare to modernize rail systems globally

The capacity to manufacture and export top-end high-speed trains and related equipment is giving a new sheen to the image of China， for long considered maker of low-quality， cheap goods like bags， shoes and lighters.

Even foreign governments and corporate clients are sitting up and taking notice.

China is in talks with more than 30 countries including the United States， Russia， Brazil， Thailand， Turkey， Saudi Arabia and Iran about high-speed rail projects， said Wang Mengshu， a deputy to the National Peoples Congress and deputy chief engineer of China Railway Tunnel Group Ltd.

“Chinas first high-speed rail project in Indonesia will arouse more countriesinterest， which are keen to put their economic growth on a firmer footing through efficient transportation systems and regional connectivity，” said Wang.

China was selected by the Indonesian government to build the nations first bullet rail link-the 150-kilometer Jakarta-Bandung link last year. It is re- sponsible to construct the $5.5-billion high-speed railway line from Jakarta to Bandung in the Southeast Asian country.

With the operational date scheduled for 2019， the project will be developed by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China， a joint venture formed in October 2015 between a consortium of Indonesian state-owned companies and China Railway International Co Ltd， a subsidiary of China Railway Corp Group.

The project is financed through a Chinese loan provided by China Development Bank which provides around 75 percent of the funding， with the rest arranged by the joint venture partners.

“Even though China is a latecomer to the field in comparison with its German and French rivals， its rail equipment companies have thrived thanks to cost advantages， reasonable delivery times and flexible financing models，” Wang said.

Eager to compete with established rivals in Europe， Japan and Canada， China will further develop “smart trains”， which apply intelligent technology that will allow trains speed control， condition determination and fault detection to be performed digitally， Wang said.

The Chinese government an- nounced in September a 370-kilometer high-speed railway project between Las Vegas and Los Angeles will be built by a joint venture by Chinese rail companies， including China Railway Construction Corp， China Railway Corp， and XpressWest Enterprises， a US passenger rail service provider.endprint

The construction work between Nevada and California is expected to start as early as this September， and the estimated investment for the project is $12.7 billion.

As a result， China Railway Rolling Stock Corp， the countrys largest train manufacturer， plans to deploy more resources and manpower in the global high-speed rail equipment market， especially in developed economies such as the US or the United Kingdom to fuel robust growth over the next decade.

CRRC was formed by the merger of Chinas former top two train manufacturers， CNR Corp and CSR Corp， last year， a major step that the Chinese government took to accelerate reform of its behemoth State-owned enterprises， in a bid to push them toward gaining more overseas projects.

Yu Weiping， CRRCs vice-president， said the company is ready to contribute to a new high-speed rail culture in the US， after it invested $60 million to build a new manufacturing facility to produce railcars in Springfield， Massachusetts， last year， after sealing a deal with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to design and supply 284 railcars for the Boston transit systems Orange and Red lines.

“With high-speed trains traveling at a speed of more than 300 kilometers per hour， it will help the US to change the situation of that countrys ground commuting systems that have long been dominated by automobiles，” said Yu.

The entire range of CRRCs prod-ucts， including diesel locomotives， electric multiple units and light-rail vehicles， has been exported to nearly 100 countries and regions.

Yu said the companys next step is to gradually switch focus from product exports to capital and technology exports in the global market.

CRRC is preparing to export bullet trains for a high-speed rail project in Russia that would connect Moscow to Kazan. The length of the line is expected to be about 770 kilometers and will run through seven Russian regions with a total population of more than 25 million.

The Chinese company has 46 wholly owned or holding subsidiaries and more than 170，000 employees. It has already built manufacturing facilities and maintenance centers in Malaysia， Turkey and Brazil.

Sheng Guangzu， a deputy to the National Peoples Congress and general manager of the China Railway Corp， the countrys railway service provider， said the Belt and Road Initiative will help China export more high-speed rail technologies and related products to a number of lucrative markets during the countrys 13th Five-Year Plan （2016-20）.endprint

The initiative， proposed by China in 2013， is a trade and infrastructure network that includes the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

The planned network connects Asia， Europe and Africa and passes through more than 60 countries and regions.

“China will quicken the pace of promoting its railway standards abroad， especially in the markets along the Belt and Road Initiative，” said Sheng.

China mulls granting longer multiple-entry visas to attract talent

China is considering plans to make it easier for foreign experts to come and stay， such as offering them five- or even 10-year multiple-entry visas.

Zhang Jianguo， head of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs and a political adviser， said that this year he will try to make sure that the visa issue will not become a hurdle preventing high-end overseas talent from coming to China.

“Many foreign experts wrote me emails to complain about the visa problem. They want five-year or even 10-year multiple-entry permits， which will make their visits easier，” said Zhang.

“Most of them are high-end talented people. Some are even Nobel Prize winners. Currently， they can get only oneyear or two-year multiple-entry permits， which are not very convenient for them.”

In contrast， many other countries have adopted a flexible visa policy for Chinese citizens. “For example， many Chinese business people or even students can apply for 10-year multiple-entry permits in the United States. I think we should ensure that top overseas talented people who want to come and work in China can enjoy the same convenience.”

According to the draft 13th FiveYear Plan （2016-20）， China is going to introduce many types of overseas talent， namely scientists in strategic sectors， those who are able to engage in innovations， breakthrough techniques and developing high-tech industries， and those in emerging disciplines.

Zhang has vowed to remove career barriers for foreign talent and make their lives in China more convenient.

“We will encourage establishing a recruitment mechanism within research institutions， colleges and universities that will take job applications from around the world，” he said.

“We will also draft a regulation to guide foreign experts to participate in national science and technology programs， as well as being leaders of important research projects.”

Zhang mentioned some specific concerns of foreigners living in China.endprint

“What if they get ill in China？ How can the expenses in a Chinese hospital be covered by insurance in China or their commercial insurance bought overseas？

“I know there are very few hospitals that could connect with overseas insurance companies. And this needs policy support from government agencies such as us.”

Tibet hoping to become a top global destination

In a bid to attract more tourists and become one of the worlds top destinations during the next five years， the Tibet autonomous region would like to shorten the time it takes to issue travel permits to foreigners.

Currently， foreign travelers need Tibet travel permits to tour the region， in addition to a Chinese visa. This extra requirement is based on Tibets unique ethnic traditions， cultural heritage， reception capacity and ecological protection needs. Without the permits， which must be applied for through an authorized travel agency， foreigners cant board a flight or train to Tibet.

“Tibet will be more open to domestic and foreign tourists in the next five years. We will simplify the procedure for foreigners to obtain travel permits and cut the waiting time，” said Hong Wei， deputy director of the Tibet tourism development commission and a deputy in the Tibet delegation to the National Peoples Congress. Hong spoke during a group discussion at the NPCs annual session.

The reform of travel permits is still being studied and there are no hard details at the moment， according to an official with Tibets publicity department.

Padma Choling， head of the standing committee of the regional peoples congress， said at the session that Tibet has no plans to completely abolish permits for foreign travelers because its natural environment is complicated and the purpose of the permits is mainly to ensure the safety of the travelers.

“It takes at least 15 days for foreigners to receive their permits after submitting all the documents if they are not refused entry. I hope it can be cut to less than a week in the future，” said Xu Bin， manager of a travel agency based in Lhasa， the capital of Tibet. He said he has received many inquiries from foreigners during the past eight years who were very interested in visiting Tibet.

Li Yiqiang， deputy director of Shannan prefecture， said the number of foreigners visiting the prefecture in 2015 increased by more than 30% over the previous year. “Allowing more foreign visitors to come to Tibet can help the locals out of poverty by getting them involved in providing tourism services，” he said.endprint

Greenhouse gas emissions are likely to peak by 2030 in China

Chinas greenhouse gas emissions are likely to peak by 2030 or perhaps earlier， instead of having reached that peak in 2014 as some studies have suggested， the countrys special representative on climate change said on Mar. 7.

“It is reasonable for China to set the peak target for around 2030 and we will try our best to achieve it a bit earlier，”said Xie Zhenhua， who also serves as a national political adviser.

China appeared to hit a carbon dioxide emissions peak in 2014， and the level then fell in 2015， according to a study by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and the ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy at the London School of Economics， according to a report from Reuters.

But Xie said he has noted that sev- eral agencies have recently issued reports concluding that the global emission of carbon dioxide has stopped growing because of a weak world economy and efforts taken by many countries in 2015， and that China was a major factor.

“But we did not reach the peak in 2014，” Xie said at a news conference of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference on Mar. 7.

The Intended Nationally Determined Contribution of China creates a timetable that calls for reaching the peak around 2030， with an effort to try to make it happen earlier， taking into account the needs of industrialization and urbanization， Xie said.

China plans to complete that industrialization by 2020 and its urbanization drive， and population growth are both likely to be stable by around 2030， he said.

To achieve the peak as planned， China has taken a series of steps to slow down the growth of emissions， especially by promoting sustainable energy， he said， adding that the country has installed about 25% of the sustainable energy capacity worldwide.

In addition， China will continue to increase energy efficiency， develop nonfossil fuels， expand forests and adjust its industrial structure.

Energy from nonfossil fuels will account for a larger share of consumption by 2020， which should increase to account for 15% of the national energy mix， up from 12% in 2015， a binding target listed in the 13th Five-Year Plan.

In addition， in the coming five years， the country will see an 18% reduction in carbon intensity， Xie said. This refers to carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in 2020 as compared to the level in 2015.endprint