6/9/16, "U.S. Throws China Off High-Speed Rail Project," Wall St. Journal,Te-Ping Chen, Beijing
"China state media says XpressWest’s move is irresponsible."
"A high-speed rail agreement touted as a symbol of U.S.-China cooperation has fallen apart less than a year after it was signed. XpressWest,
a private U.S. company, on Thursday said a venture with China Railway
International to build a high-speed rail line to link Southern
California with Las Vegas won’t proceed.
In a statement, the U.S.
company said it terminated the partnership because of “difficulties
associated with timely performance” and its Chinese partner’s challenges
in obtaining necessary approvals to proceed with the project.
China Railway International is a specially formed company that includes state-owned China Railway Group Ltd., CRRC Corp.
and China State Construction Engineering Corp. The group and its
members couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday, which was a public
holiday in China.
Xinhua, the government’s news agency, cited a
China Railway International manager as saying the U.S. company’s move
was “precipitate” and “irresponsible” and the Chinese side would seek to
defend its interests.
The deal between XpressWest and China
Railway International had been announced by Chinese government
authorities last September, ahead of a formal visit by President Xi Jinping
to the U.S. At the time, the deal was hailed by Chinese officials for
helping China secure a greater foothold in the U.S. market.
Had it materialized, the project would have been the first high-speed rail system to be built in the U.S. by Chinese companies.
XpressWest
said the company would continue pursuing other partnerships and options
to move ahead with the rail link. The project’s biggest hurdle was a
federal requirement that high-speed trains be manufactured in the U.S.,
Chief Executive Tony Marnell said in the statement. He urged the
government to adopt a “more flexible and realistic approach to support
high-speed rail.”"
"Write to Te-Ping Chen at te-ping.chen@wsj.com"
===============
Comment: A high speed rail line from So. Calif. to Las Vegas would go broke due to lack of ridership. It's a terrible idea to begin with. In any case, per the article, the US requires high speed trains for use in the US be made here. Why not let a US company "secure a greater foothold" in the US market? This is logical if only for safety and maintenance
reasons. Both sides must have known of this requirement from the beginning.
================
Added: 2015 WSJ article linked above:
In 2014 Communist China won contract to supply trains for Boston subway system:
9/17/2015, "Chinese Officials Unveil Energy, Railway Tie-Ups With U.S. Companies," Wall St. Journal, Lingling Wei
"Last year, China CNR Corp. was awarded a $567 million contract to
supply trains for Boston’s subway system, representing China’s first
rail-related deal in the U.S....
Meanwhile,
companies from both China and the U.S. will contribute to a planned a planned $3
billion fund to invest in energy-efficient projects in China, according
to Fang Xinghai, an official at the Office of the Central Leading Group.
The
intent of the fund is “to accelerate the deployment of U.S. technology
and expertise in the Chinese market to substantially reduce CO2 and
other climate-related emissions,” said a statement issued by the Paulson
Institute, a think tank founded by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson that has been advising the Chinese side on the initiative.
Bo Bai,
managing director of Warburg Pincus, a U.S. private-equity firm that
has also been advising on the fund, said details of the fund would be
“determined through negotiations that will continue over the next six
months.”"...
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