China moving ahead with Trans African Rail Line, New Silk Road part of Global Land Bridge Vision

[Global Construction Review] Earlier this year, the Chinese Railway Authority announced that it was to expand its present network, which is somewhere north of 11,000km, by almost 7,000km. This comprises 48 projects and investments in rail in the first quarter of this year increased by 9% compared with the first quarter of 2013.

China is working on the high speed rail line to Laos and another to Thailand. This would be part of a grand system that links China with Singapore to the south and, through Myanmar and Bangladesh, to India in the west.

As previously mentioned, China is talking to Russia about a high speed rail line from Moscow to Beijing. China and Russia also agreed to work together on other transport and energy schemes, including the development of heavy helicopters and a very large aircraft to rival Airbus’s A380, the exploration of two natural gas fields, more pipelines, nuclear power plants and the expansion of Russia’s Zarubino port on the Pacific coast, south of Vladivostok.

China is pushing ahead with its Development Bank. The US is opposed to it. China is trying to get South Korea and Australia to sign on. Trade between South Korea and China was $221 billion in 2011. Currently, China is South Korea's largest trading partner and South Korea is China's third largest.



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