U.S. acknowledges China's rail technology advancement. (Photo : www.scmp.com)
A first, firms from China and the United States will work hand in hand to build a high-speed rail line, marking the U.S.'s consideration that the country's technology level has already advanced, according to experts.
The 37-kilometer line aims to connect the U.S. cities of Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Nevada. The Xinhua News Agency stated that the construction will start next fall.
Reportedly, the U.S.-China endeavor needs an investment of around $12.7 billion.
The state-owned rail construction firm China Railway Group will lead the consortium of Chinese firms that will partner with the private U.S. rail company, XpressWest.
The deal to build and operate a high-speed railway was inked on Sunday, the report added.
Zhong Dajun, director of the Beijing Dajun Institute for Economic Observation, said that the deal indicates that the U.S. rail industry has acknowledged the advancement in China's technology level.
Zhong added that the venture is a significant means to change the public's perception that Chinese goods are cheap, low-technology products.
"The project marks close economic ties between China and the U.S and will further deepen cooperation of the two in other areas," the director said.
Nonetheless, some experts have painted the move in a political light, rather than just regarding it as a pure business partnership.
Zhao Jian, a Beijing Jiaotong University professor, said that the deal carries more political interests than economic ones.
The announcement of the deal comes before the scheduled visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the U.S. in the coming week.
