Judul : As China’s speedy maglev train breaks records, US ambitions go off the rails
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As China’s speedy maglev train breaks records, US ambitions go off the rails
A week after China said its supercharged rail system has reached speeds of 600km/h (373mph), US President Donald Trump seemingly pulled the plug on American rail progress.
In a controversial move being challenged by the state of California, Trump cancelled US$4 billion in federal funding for its high-speed railway project.
Regardless of the outcome of any legal challenge, Trump's announcement highlights the contrasting development paths of the economic superpowers in their rail aspirations, or lack thereof.
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China is widely expected to extend its lead over the United States as progress speeds forward with its blazing-fast trains - at home and abroad - while American projects struggle amid a lack of funding and political pressure.
The subject is expected to be a central talking point during the US-China Rail Transit Industry Roundtable on Friday at the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing.
Industry representatives from both sides will also discuss the potential for supply-chain cooperation in the railway sector, according to the agenda provided by the organisation, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
Eight US companies are expected to attend: Westinghouse Transportation Group, Caterpillar, 3M, Cummins, Harsco Rail, Corning, Advanced Railway Technologies, and Ibex Infrastructure.
"The slow development of high-speed rail in the United States is largely due to the constraints of political and capital interests," Wang Yiwei, an ex-diplomat and head of Renmin University's Institute of International Affairs in Beijing, told the Post on Thursday.
"For example, Trump is now targeting California, opposing its high-speed rail project - not only as part of partisan struggles, but also to pave the way for his chosen political successor."
Wang added that, while the US high-speed rail ambitions are hampered by private capital's focus on short-term returns and powerful industry lobbies, China's success stems from long-term, state-led planning, strategic investments and centralised control, prioritising national development over immediate profits.
Trump announced his decision in a social media post on Wednesday, saying the project was "severely overpriced, overregulated and never delivered", as well as "an ill-conceived and unnecessary project, and a total waste of taxpayer money".
California authorities called the move illegal.
"Trump wants to hand China the future and abandon the Central Valley," Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement following Trump's remark.
"We're now in the track-laying phase and building America's only high-speed rail. California is putting all options on the table to fight this illegal action."
The project, plagued by delays and budget overruns, was supposed to link San Francisco to Los Angeles in under three hours. Yet, a decade after the groundbreaking ceremony, less than 35 per cent of the first proposed phase of the project is said to be under active construction.
And it is not an issue unique to California. Fourteen years have passed since former president Barack Obama unveiled his vision to give 80 per cent of Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years.
Building a high-speed railway project in the US faces multiple challenges, ranging from the lack of private investment interests in long-term projects, to the lobbying efforts from the aviation and automotive industries, according to Wang.
Meanwhile, China's new maglev train will be the nation's fastest-ever ground transport vehicle. Short for "magnetic levitation", the maglev was unveiled at last week's 17th Modern Railways exhibition and offered a glimpse of China's rail transport aspirations.
The train is also equipped with automated driving functions and AI technologies, according to its developer, the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC).
The model completed its first phase of engineering last year. More route and safety tests, as well as engineering viability assessments, will be conducted before the train is ready for commercial service, the developer said.
China's high-speed rail service has expanded rapidly in the past two decades - from barely existing to comprising the world's largest network, with more than 48,000km (30,000 miles) of track by the end of 2024.
Beijing aims to reach 50,000km of track this year, according to the China State Railway Group.
China's success in high-speed rail development builds on its policy planning and execution capabilities, Wang said.
"Even if high-speed rail projects are not profitable in the short term, China can still build them for strategic reasons - using large-scale infrastructure to drive industrial development and promote regional coordination," he explained.
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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.
Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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