Chinese high-speed train creates new world record

By IB Times Staff Reporter | September 29, 2010 51 AM EDT


A new high-speed train linking Chinese cities Shanghai and Hangzhou has set a fresh world record for train speed at 416.6 kilometers an hour on its trial run on Tuesday, China Daily reported.

The train expects to cut the travel time by half to 40 minutes for covering a distance of 202 kilometers between the two cities at an average speed of 350 kilometers per hour.

The train service connecting Shanghai and Hangzhou, capital of East China’s Zhejiang province, is expected to start in late October, state broadcaster China Central Television said.

"The new record of 416.6 km per hour shows that China has achieved a new milestone in high-speed train technologies," Zhang Shuguang, deputy chief engineer of the Ministry of Railways, was quoted as saying.

Liu Yulei, a China National Radio reporter who took the trial run, said she felt like she was flying when the train reached its peak speed.

China, which has currently 7,000-km of high-speed railway lines, the most of its kind in the world, is not appealing to passengers due to prohibitively priced ticket charges and the long journey time for non-direct trains.

A first-class train ticket to travel between the two cities is estimated to cost more than 100 yuan ($14.90), which is twice the existing fare, Jiefang Daily reported.

Travellers believe that the high-speed train between Shanghai and Hangzhou make take longer than the two-hour drive on road if the train stops at all the nine stations along the route, seven of which are newly built in suburban districts of Shanghai and some cities of Zhejiang.

A number of non-direct high-speed trains running between Shanghai and Hangzhou may stop at these stations, with the goal of furthering economic development in these areas, China Securities Journal reported.

The report quoted a clerk with Shanghai Railway Bureau who did not want to be named as saying that the trial run for the Shanghai-Hangzhou line is for technical research. The ticket price and detailed operation timetable cannot be released yet.

Further details about the train will be released one week before the official operation starts, he said.

Acquisition of Foreign Technology

Despite setting speed records on test tracks, the DJJ2, DJF2 and other domestically-produced high speed trains were insufficiently reliable for commercial operation.[8] The State Council turned to advanced technology abroad but made clear in directives that China's HSR expansion cannot only benefit foreign economies.[8] China's expansion must also be used to develop its own high-speed train building capacity through technology transfers. The State Council, MOR and state-owned train builders, the China North Car (CNC) and China South Car (CSC) used China's large market and competition among foreign train-makers to induce technology transfers,.

In 2003, the MOR was believed to favor Japan's Shinkansen technology, especially the 700 series, which was later exported to Taiwan.[8] The Japanese government touted the 40-year track record of the Shinkansen and offered favorable financing. A Japanese report envisioned a winner-take all scenario in which the winning technology provider would supply China's trains for over 8,000 km of high-speed rail.[9] However, Chinese netizens angry with Japan's World War II atrocities organized a web campaign to oppose the awarding of HSR contracts to Japanese companies. The protests gathered over a million signatures and politicized the issue.[10] The MOR delayed the decision, broadened the bidding and adopted a diversified approach to adopting foreign high-speed train technology.

In June 2004, the MOR solicited bids to make 200 high speed train sets that can run 200 km/h.[8] Alstom of France, Siemens of Germany, Bombardier Transportation based in Germany and a Japanese consortium led by Kawasaki all submitted bids. With the exception of Siemens which refused to lower its demand of RMB(¥) 350 million per train set and €390 million for the technology transfer, the other three were all awarded portions of the contract.[8] All had to adapt their HSR train-sets to China's own common standard and assemble units through local joint ventures (JV). Bombardier, through its JV in Qingdao with CSC's Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co. (CSR Sifang), won an order for 40 eight-car train sets based on Bombardier's Regina design.[11] These trains, designated CRH1A, were delivered in 2006. Kawasaki won an order for 60 train sets based on its E2 Series Shinkansen for ¥9.3 billion.[12] Of the 60 train sets, three were directly delivered from Nagoya, Japan, six were kits assembled at Kawasaki's JV with CSR Sifang, and the remaining 51 were made in China using transferred technology with domestic and imported parts.[13] They are known as CRH2A. Alstom also won an order for 60 train sets based on the New Pendolino developed by Alstom-Ferroviaria in Italy. The order had a similar delivery structure with three shipped directly from Savigliano along with six kits assembled by CNR's Changchun Railway Vehicles, and the rest locally made with transferred technology and some imported parts.[14] Trains with Alstom technology carry the CRH5 designation.

The following year, Siemens reshuffled its bidding team, lowered prices, joined the bidding for 300 km/h trains and won a 60-train set order.[8] It supplied the technology for the CRH3, based on the Velaro design, to its JV with CNR's Tangshan Railway Vehicle Co. Ltd.

Iniciado por eschinol

Hoy me he dado cuenta de algo que se está desmadrando en China y puede ser la piedra que les haga tropezar, aunque no me atrevo a asegurar nada, China no sigue los mismos patrones que otros países, por sus dimensiones y "diversidad" de clases sociales...

El precio de la vivienda es algo que está superando límites que no podría imaginar. En el centro de shanghai andan por 10-15000eur / m2.... Los precios se han multipicado por 10 en menos de 10 años, algunos sitios por 15...

Pero no sólo compra, también alquiler, lo que puede repercutir a toda la fabricación, ya que mantener el coste de vida "bajo" para las clases bajas es vital para la fabricación. Hablamos de alquileres de 2500rmb para viviendas de 90m2, a 40km del centro de Shanghai, en zonas industriales. Los salarios van desde los 1500 hasta los 3500rmb, por lo que es una carga considerable.
En el centro, sólo una habitación de 10m2 puede alcanzar los 1500rmb, sinceramente no se cómo los empleados de restaurantes viven con 2000rmb/mes.

Estamos de acuerdo en que china va a ser la primera potencia mundial, yo no creo que hagan falta ni siquiera décadas, en menos de 10 años están ahí...

La cuestión que planteo, será la burbuja inmobiliaria capaz de afectar a la economía?

Yo creo que a corto plazo, la burbuja ayuda a generar buenos datos económicos, pero a largo plazo puede tener un efecto debastador. Por ejemplo, si llegara a afectar tanto a la inflación (la real no la publicada) que condenase a la fabricación en china a unos costes incluso mayores que los europeos. No es algo imposible, china subiendo costes y el resto bajando...

Siempre he pensado que los USAnos no son tontos y tienen un "as" en la manga. Han "amaestrado" a los mejores economistas y además sin escrúpulos.
La burbuja inmobiliaria en china fue "iniciada" por occidentales, principalmente americanos, alemanes y japoneses. Hace tiempo, un extranjero sin permiso de residencia podía comprar una o varias casas en china. Conozco alemanes que tuvieron suerte y compraron en las afueras de shanghai a 200eur/m2, ahora vale 2000eur/m2.

Chinese manufacturing activity rises
irishtimes.com - Last Updated: Friday, October 1, 2010, 07:35

Chinese manufacturing gathered momentum last month, providing further evidence that an important engine of global growth is humming again after sputtering in the second quarter.

The strength of the official purchasing managers' index (PMI) bodes well for countries that are selling everything from copper to high-end machinery to what by some measures is now the world's second-largest economy.

The PMI rose to 53.8 in September from 51.7 in August, easily beating the median forecast of 52.0 in a Reuters poll of economists.

It is the 19th straight month that the official PMI has stood above the threshold of 50 that demarcates expansion from contraction.

The upbeat survey chimed with a companion poll for HSBC, released on Wednesday, which rose to a five-month high on the back of stronger gains in output and new business.

The PMI showed strength across the board. Output and new orders rose strongly, as did imports, while firms further ran down their stocks of finished goods.

That typically suggests that manufacturers will have to ramp up production to meet an increase in new business.

Reuters

Diplomacy not the answer to China's bad behaviour

The Irish Times - Saturday, October 2, 2010

OPINION: Legislation potentially paving the way for sanctions is a step in the right direction, writes PAUL KRUGMAN

SERIOUS PEOPLE were appalled by Wednesday’s vote in the House of Representatives, where a huge bipartisan majority approved legislation, sponsored by Representative Sander Levin, that would potentially pave the way for sanctions against China over its currency policy.

As a substantive matter, the Bill was very mild; nonetheless, there were dire warnings of trade war and global economic disruption. Better, said respectable opinion, to pursue quiet diplomacy. But serious people, who have been wrong about so many things since this crisis began – remember how budget deficits were going to lead to skyrocketing interest rates and soaring inflation? – are wrong on this issue, too. Diplomacy on China’s currency has gone nowhere, and will continue going nowhere unless backed by the threat of retaliation.

The hype about trade war is unjustified – and, anyway, there are worse things than trade conflict. In a time of mass unemployment, made worse by China’s predatory currency policy, the possibility of a few new tariffs should be way down on our list of worries. Let’s step back and look at the current state of the world. Major advanced economies are still reeling from the effects of a burst housing bubble and the financial crisis that followed. Consumer spending is depressed and firms see no point in expanding when they aren’t selling enough to use the capacity they have.

The recession may be officially over, but unemployment is extremely high and shows no sign of returning to normal levels.

The situation is quite different, however, in emerging economies. These economies have weathered the economic storm, they are fighting inflation rather than deflation and they offer abundant investment opportunities. Naturally, capital from wealthier but depressed nations is flowing in their direction. And emerging nations could and should play an important role in helping the world economy as a whole pull out of its slump.

But China, the largest of these emerging economies, isn’t allowing this natural process to unfold. Restrictions on foreign investment limit the flow of private funds into China; meanwhile, the Chinese government is keeping the value of its currency, the renminbi, artificially low by buying huge amounts of foreign currency, in effect subsidising its exports. And these subsidised exports are hurting employment in the rest of the world. Chinese officials defend this policy with arguments that are implausible and wildly inconsistent. They deny they are deliberately manipulating their exchange rate; I guess the tooth fairy purchased $2.4 trillion in foreign currency and put it on their pillows while they were sleeping. Anyway, say prominent Chinese figures, it doesn’t matter; the renminbi has nothing to do with China’s trade surplus. Yet this week China’s premier cried woe over the prospect of a stronger currency, declaring, “We cannot imagine how many Chinese factories will go bankrupt, how many Chinese workers will lose their jobs.”

Well, either the renminbi’s value matters, or it doesn’t – they can’t have it both ways.

Meanwhile, about diplomacy: China’s government has shown no hint of helpfulness and seems to go out of its way to flaunt its contempt for US negotiators. In June, the Chinese supposedly agreed to allow their currency to move toward a market-determined rate – which, if the example of economies like Brazil is any indication, would have meant a sharp rise in the renminbi’s value. But, as of Thursday, China’s currency had risen only about 2 per cent against the dollar – with most of that rise taking place in just the past few weeks, clearly in anticipation of the vote on the Levin Bill.

The Bill empowers US officials to impose tariffs against Chinese exports subsidised by the artificially low renminbi, but it doesn’t require these officials to take action. And judging from past experience, US officials will not take action. They’ll continue to make excuses, to tout imaginary diplomatic progress, and, in general, to confirm China’s belief that they are paper tigers.

The Levin Bill is, then, a signal at best. It is at least as much a shot across the bow of US officials as it is a signal to the Chinese. But it’s a step in the right direction. US policymakers have been infuriatingly passive in the face of China’s bad behaviour – especially because taking on China is one of the few policy options for tackling unemployment available to the Obama administration, given Republican obstructionism on everything else.

The Levin Bill probably won’t change that passivity. But it will, at least, start to build a fire under policymakers, bringing us closer to the day when, at long last, they are ready to act.

Brawl in Beijing

Critics of Chinese researchers targeted in physical attacks.

Published online 29 September 2010 | Nature 467, 511 (2010)

David Cyranoski
Former biochemist Fang Shimin has made enemies after scrutinizing scientists’ reputations.FANG SHIMIN

Science can be a rough game in China. On 29 August, on his way home from a tea house in Beijing, Fang Shimin was assaulted. The former biochemist — who for the past decade has run a website exposing scientific fraudsters — was chased by two men, caught and attacked with a hammer.

"I believe they planned to kill me," he says. "The only way to shut me up is to kill me." He escaped with only minor cuts and bruises. In June, Fang Xuanchang, a journalist who had reported on corruption in science in China, was left with more serious injuries after two men assaulted him with steel rods.

On 21 September, police arrested Xiao Chuanguo, a urologist at Tongji Medical College in Wuhan, on suspicion of master minding both plots. Xiao could not be reached for comment, but has confessed his involvement to Beijing's police. Fang Shimin says Xiao could face 3–10 years in prison — or more if the charges become attempted murder.

Xiao and Fang Shimin have never met or spoken, but their paths have crossed on the Internet — and in court. Xiao's clash with him, and with Fang Xuanchang, revolves around a surgical procedure devised by Xiao that aims to restore bladder and bowel funct1on in patients with spina bifida or spinal-cord injuries. Xiao reported an impressive 87% success rate for the operation, which involves re-routing nerves1,2. In 2005, he was nominated for membership of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the elite body of the Chinese scientific world.

Following his nomination, people started posting questions about Xiao's claims on Fang Shimin's website (China's Scientific & Academic Integrity Watch). Then in September 2005, Fang Shimin published an essay in Beijing Sci–Tech Report, which said that Xiao was not an associate professor at New York University as he states in his CV, but only an assistant professor. Furthermore, the article said that only 4 of the 26 English-language publications Xiao listed were journal articles — the rest being abstracts from conference proceedings.

It is not known if Fang Shimin's article affected the academy's decision, but Xiao was not made a member and has since sued Fang Shimin for libel five times. Fang Shimin, whose site has been criticized for giving contributors a platform for unjustified attacks on their enemies3, lost one case and won two, with the other two undecided. Meanwhile, criticism of the 'Xiao procedure' has continued. Last year, Fang Xuanchang published a series of articles questioning its efficacy, which may have prompted the attacks on him.

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Beijing-based lawyer Peng Jian says he has interviewed 20–30 patients who have experienced side effects after undergoing the Xiao procedure, and who are seeking compensation. This summer, the first US trial of the treatment reported ambiguous results in The Journal of Urology4, and two journal editorials said it should be considered experimental4.

Fang Shimin, meanwhile, is unfazed by the attack. "It won't stop me," he says. "I will continue to do what I am doing."

References
1. Xiao, C.-G. Proc. Int. Conf. Urol. Shanghai, 2–4 July (2005).
2. Xiao, C.-G. Eur. Urol. 49, 22-29 (2006).
3. Cyranoski, D. Nature 441, 392-393 (2006).
4. Peters, K. M. et al. J. Urol. 184, 702-708 (2010).