International arrival for China's trains

For his part, Jeff Morales, CEO of the California Rail Authority, said: "We are very impressed by China's great progress and leadership in high-speed rail".

"China has built 7,000 miles of high-speed rail, the US has built zero, but we will change that. California will be the first high-speed rail system in the US," said Morales.

CNR Corp and CSR Corp, China's two biggest train makers, made expressions of interest in late October to provide trains for California's $68 billion high-speed rail project, the first in the US.

In the United Kingdom, Chinese enterprises are negotiating with British partners on the possible collaboration in local high-speed railway projects, according to Chinese ambassador Liu Xiaoming.

'Stars are aligned'

Wang Mengshu, a tunnel and railway expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said China has rich expertise and experience in designing, building and operating a high-speed rail network so the nation should be an ideal option for any country that wants high-speed rail lines.

China is the only nation in the world that has carried out large and complicated railway projects over the past decade, and some have been in harsh environments such as the high-altitude Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and in bitterly cold Northeast China, testifying to the country's strong capability in this field, he said.

In addition, China uses a flexible approach toward funding cooperative programs, Wang added, explaining that foreign nations with financial difficulties are encouraged to repay their share of the investment with local resources.

Zhao Jian, a professor of Beijing Jiaotong University who specializes in China's railway system, told Shanghai's Oriental Morning Post that China has excess production capacity in the railway sector so the government and industry should strive to strengthen exports of rail technology and projects to boost the sector.

The previous success of Chinese railway companies will help them ink contracts for high-speed railway projects in the US and Brazil in the near future, according to Feng Hao, a transportation researcher with China's National Development and Reform Commission.

By the end of 2013, China had a high-speed rail network of more than 10,000 km, far exceeding any other country and larger than the network in the entire European Union, the World Bank said in a July report.

And it has been built at a cost at least one-third lower than in other countries, said the report.

Mexico cancels Chinese bullet train deal	CSR unit raring to go in Southeast Asia

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