Earlier this year, the domestic service of China’s state Xinhua news agency issued an extraordinary 15,000-Chinese character article explaining how the nation had achieved “40 years of high-speed railway development in just 5 years”.
It is a document that should be required reading for any foreign manufacturer doing business in China, a reminder they are dealing with a nation that is no longer willing to be a technology follower and is able to use the allure of its vast market to catch up.
International train companies are already learning this lesson the hard way. Only a few years ago Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Germany’s Siemens, France’s Alstom and Canada’s Bombardier all dreamed of winning a leading role in China’s high-speed rail sector.