New high-speed railway connecting major port cities opens in east China

A high-speed railway connecting the two major port cities of Wenzhou and Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province officially opened on Friday, highlighting a breakthrough for private funding in China's railway construction.

The project, which began in 2017, was completed in two phases, with private enterprises investing 51 percent in the section between Wenzhou City and Yiwu City, a vital distribution hub for small commodities.

"We created a foundation for private investment, which allowed investors to reduce their capital contribution. Additionally, we established a risk-sharing mechanism between social capital and private enterprises to ensure risk management," said Zhang Yi, manager at the Department of Transportation Management of Zhejiang Communications Investment Group Co., Ltd.

Under this mechanism, private enterprises will receive all earnings during the first 30 years of operation, while risks are shared with social capital. If earnings fall short of expectations, the government will provide subsidies to alleviate financial pressure on private enterprises.

Extending 260 km, the nine-station railway has a designed speed of 350 km per hour, offering a rapid transit solution along the route threading the economic hubs of Hangzhou, Yiwu and Wenzhou in the delta area, known as one of the country's most economically vibrant regions.

New high-speed railway connecting major port cities opens in east China

China should strengthen the global supply chain and promote regional economic integration as the United States' pushes for decoupling, said a Chinese scholar in an interview.

Following Donald Trump's U.S. Presidential Election victory, many are considering how his policies might affect China-U.S. trade.

During an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Ju Jiandong, chair professor at PBC School of Finance under Tsinghua University, said the U.S. has intended to decouple from China, and the global value chain structure is changing. As a result, China should strengthen supply chains with all countries, partly by promoting regional economic integration.

"I think we should be really concerned about this policy and try to make our policy. On the one hand, we will not be excluded, we will not be marginalized in the global value chain, on the one hand. On the other hand, we will try to make the global value chain stable. So, I think that the one direction to go is we need to have a stronger regional economic integration, which we need to move faster and quicker to settle the regional economic integration, which I call, the Asian community," he said.

Chinese scholar urges strengthened supply chains, regional economic integration amid US decoupling move