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| New Shanghai-Hangzhou Line in Jeopardy |
| China and Germany bicker over extent of maglev train technology transfer |
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Ronald Schaefer (rs050474)  |
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Published 2006-06-12 12:06 (KST) |
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Business travelers listen up! Imagine a city where it takes a mere eight minutes to reach the city center from the airport. No need to dream. That city already exists in China. Shanghai visitors can board a high-speed maglev train upon arriving at Pudong International Airport and be whisked away at up to 268 mph towards the 18.6 miles-distant financial district.
 |  | | | | | | ©2006 Athewma | Maglev (magnetic levitation) trains can operate quietly and almost without friction, as electrical currents make their magnetic lower body levitate over a metal track.
In March, China's central government green-lighted a 200-kilometer (124-mile) extension of the line to Hangzhou with a price tag of US$5.5 billion. This new high-speed maglev link, capable of reaching speeds of up to 450 kilometers per hour (279 mph), will cut the time needed to travel between these two cities to only 28 minutes from the 140 minutes it now takes. The new line is supposed to be completed by 2010, when Shanghai will host the World Expo.
Now, three months after China gave the green light, the whole project seems to be in jeopardy. After much negotiation between China and Germany's Transrapid International Consortium (which includes ThyssenKrupp AG and Siemens AG), both sides are still arguing not only about the cost of the project, but also about how much of Germany's valuable knowledge and technology will be transferred to China.
Germany wants to sell China a one-time usage right to their technology. China insists instead on establishing a joint venture enterprise with Germany, which would allow 90 percent of the equipment and parts to be produced within China's boundaries.
China cites lower construction costs, a facilitated technology transfer and an increase in employment and GDP as reasons for their demand. Germany, ostensibly fearing an expropriation of their technology and know-how, disputes the need for a joint venture. But Germany did agree to let Chinese companies build the line. Chinese companies can do so without Germany fully having to share its maglev technology.
Wu Xiangming, director of China's National Maglev Transportation Technology Research Center, defended China's stand, saying that Germany may have given "birth to the technology" but it was China that would be providing "the fertile soil" in which the maglev technology could "grow strong and sturdy."
China is even threatening to abandon the entire project if Germany doesn't comply with their demands.
The alternatives for China seem to be either replacing the maglev link with a high-speed railway system, which would add only four minutes travel time, or employing lower-speed maglev technologies developed by China. Zhejiang and several other Chinese cities are already experimenting with building or planning their own maglev lines, which makes one wonder where they might have picked up the necessary knowledge.
Germany may still hold a slight advantage in the coming talks. The World Expo is only four years away and China might not be able to afford further delays, unless they are willing to dump altogether one of their major showcases.
Four years from now, maybe all these exhausted Shanghai businesspeople will find a relaxing weekend near Hangzhou's west lake to be only a short train ride away.
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©2006 OhmyNews
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