WCA July 2010

But in a lengthy interview with Zheng Jian, the chief planner and director of high-speed rail for the Ministry of Railways, in Beijing, the Times ’s Mr Bradsher was told repeatedly that any Chinese bid would comply with all American laws and regulations. The framework agreement between the ministry and General Electric calls for the licensing of Chinese technology to GE, a world leader in diesel locomotives but without much experience with electric locomotives for very high speeds. The US company told Mr Bradsher that at least 80% of the components of any locomotives and electronic train control gear are to come from American suppliers. China would supply project engineers and up to 20% of the components. Final assembly would be done in the United States. California is looking to spend $43 billion to build a ❖ 460-mile rail route from San Francisco to Los Angeles and on to Anaheim that would open in 2020. In January the authority was awarded $2.25 billion in federal economic stimulus money for the project. Plans call for $10 billion to $12 billion in private financing, much of which could be provided by China, with US government, state, and local jurisdictions providing the rest. Presuming the Chinese participation materialises, what might Californians expect? Mr Zheng of the Chinese railway ministry told the Times that a high-speed rail link between Beijing and Shanghai will be finished by the end of 2011 or early in 2012. It will cut the ten-hour journey down to four hours. By comparison, travel by rail over a similar distance – from New York to Atlanta, say, or to Chicago – takes 18 to 19 hours. And the longer-haul passenger trains must share tracks with freight trains and commuter trains. “We [Chinese] are the most advanced in many fields,” Mr Zheng said. “And we are willing to share with the United States.” Andrew S Ross, who writes “The Bottom Line” business column in the San Francisco Chronicle, recently devoted it to a public-private initiative that he believes may prefigure the restoration of manufacturing not only in the Bay Area but also in the US as a whole. It centred on the effort to identify prospective uses for a 380-acre, 5 million-square-foot facility in Fremont, California, formerly occupied by New United Motor Manufacturing Inc, now defunct. But the broader subject was the revival of industry in the state and in the nation. (“More Manufacturing Best for Nummi Site, Nation,” 18 th April) Concern for both aspects was evident among federal and local officials and business leaders who gathered in San Francisco in early April to consider how to bring back the thousands of industrial jobs lost as a result of the closure. Ro Khanna, a deputy assistant secretary in the US Commerce Department and, according to Mr Ross, “a key Obama point man on the jobs-and-exports front,” expressed his strong view that the area needs to be a leader in new manufacturing and in creating manufacturing jobs. Manufacturing In California and nationwide, ‘We need to make things again’

22

Wire & Cable ASIA – July/August 2010