China, Hungary, Serbia reach agreement on railway project

[cirr]

Xinhua | 2013-11-26 9:05:55

By Agencies


Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Monday in Bucharest that his country has reached an agreement with Hungary and Serbia to jointly build a railway between the latter two countries.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Hungarian and Serbian counterparts, Viktor Orban and Ivica Dacic, Li hailed the project as a landmark in cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries.

The three sides, added the Chinese premier, will set up working groups immediately and advance the project with high quality as rapidly as possible for the benefit of passengers and cargo transporters.

"China has made rapid progress in railway construction since its reform and opening-up," said Li, noting that the country now has the world's second-largest railway network with the longest mileage of high-speed railway.

The needs of CEE countries for modern transportation and the technological, equipment, financial and other advantages of China in the area indicate that the project will surely benefit all parties involved, Li said.

The Chinese premier highlighted Chinese equipment as a new global trend due to its high quality with low prices.

In its cooperation with emerging markets in particular, the Chinese premier said, Chinese equipment will not only improve their infrastructure, but also reduce its own over-capacity and improve product and services quality.

Such win-win cooperation will benefit the concerned sides as well as the European Union and the world, Li said.

Li arrived here Monday for an official visit to Romania and a summit with leaders of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries.

China, Hungary, Serbia reach agreement on railway project - BUSINESS - Globaltimes.cn

 

[cirr]

China to help Romania high-speed rail

Global Times | 2013-11-26 1:13:01

By Hu Qingyun

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) shakes hands with his counterpart Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta (R) during a press conference at Victoria Palace, the seat of the Romanian Government in Bucharest on Monday. Photo: AFP


China Premier Li Keqiang and his Romania counterpart Victor Ponta agreed on Monday that their two countries would cooperate in building high-speed railways in Romania.

After their talks, the two leaders also witnessed the signing of series of cooperation agreements, covering such fields as trade, investment and telecommunication, as well as electricity generation, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Li arrived Monday for a 3-day visit to Romania, marking China's first official visit to the country by a top leader in 19 years.

It also marks Li's first trip abroad after the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee and his first visit to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) since he took office in March.

During his 3-day visit to Romania, Li will attend a China-Central and Eastern Europe leaders' meeting in Romania's Bucharest on Tuesday as a guest of Victor-Viorel Ponta.

Li will have separate meetings with leaders from 16 CEE countries, attend a "1+16" round table meeting, as well as an economic and trade forum during the CEE meeting. He will express China's position on bilateral relations with CEE countries and announce important cooperation measures.

Zhao Junjie, a research fellow at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times Monday that Li's visit aimed at demonstrating that the central government would continue to view the mutual relationship with CEE members as an important part of its diplomatic strategy.

China should put more effort into developing relationships with CEE members, which has huge potential in economic development, in order to develop the Sino-EU relationship, Zhao said, adding that that those documents will encourage more Chinese enterprises to invest in CEE countries, including Romania.

Since the first China-CEE leaders' meeting held in Poland's Warsaw in 2012, China has sent more than 30 trade and investment delegations to CEE countries.

Li will attend the 12th prime ministers' meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states in Uzbekistan at the invitation of Uzbek Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyaev, to discuss cooperation in an anti-terrorist campaign, after finishing the visit to Romania. The members states will also deepen economic cooperation with each other.

Sun Zhuangzhi, a research fellow with Chinese Academy of Social Science told the China News Service that the economic relationship should be enhanced ahead of politics and security issues.

Agencies contributed to the story

China to help Romania high-speed rail - CHINA - Frontpage - Globaltimes.cn

 

[cirr]

China to Invest in Romanian Nuclear, Wind Power

BUCHAREST, Romania November 25, 2013 (AP)

China's prime minister says his country will invest in Romanian nuclear and wind energy production as well as a high-speed railway.

Li Keqiang arrived in Romania Monday a day ahead of a summit with leaders from Central and East European countries.

On the occasion of the visit, Romanian and Chinese officials signed various deals to cooperate in nuclear and thermoelectric energy projects and to resume beef and pork exports. No values for the deals were disclosed.

Romanian exports to China have tripled since 2008 and bilateral commerce this year amounted to $3.27 billion, according to Chinese authorities.

It was the first visit by a Chinese prime minister to Romania in 19 years. Li said the visit "consolidates reciprocal political trust."

China to Invest in Romanian Nuclear, Wind Power - ABC News

 

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@cirr latest progress here
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China, Serbia, Hungary intensify cooperation on railway deal
China, Serbia, Hungary intensify cooperation on railway deal

The preparations for the construction of a Chinese high-speed railway between the capital cities of Serbia and Hungary is underway and on schedule, Xinhua was told by the Serbian Ministry of Transport, Construction and Infrastructure.

On a three-day visit of Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli to Serbia which commenced Monday, Serbian minister Zorana Mihajlovic explained that cooperation among the three countries on the several-billion-dollar project had intensified. Mihajlovic said they would discuss the feasibility study and financing for the project of the modernization of the Belgrade-Budapest railway in mid-July.

Mihajlovic told Xinhua that the railway was strategically the most important project of cooperation with China, and the first one that involves more than one country from the region of Central and Eastern Europe on a common project.

She reminded that the railway from Belgrade to Budapest would be a part of the line that directly links the port city of Piraeus in Greece with at least six to eight Central and Eastern European countries and other Central and Western European countries, as a part of the greater transport route Maritime Silk Road linking the European and Asian continents.

Mihajlovic revealed that Serbia, by starting the project, had shown that it "not only welcomes and promotes the Chinese 'Road and Belt' initiative, but has taken direct action in implementing it."

The project for the modernization of the Belgrade-Budapest railway was initially agreed on in 2013 at the China-Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries leaders' meeting that took place in Bucharest, while at last year's summit held in Belgrade, China, Hungary and Serbia signed a memorandum of understanding.

At that point, Macedonia and Greece both expressed their willingness to partake in the project that is planned to turn Piraeus, the main port of Greece, into a Chinese hub for trade with Europe.

The cooperation plan for the construction of the railway was signed in the beginning of this year in Belgrade at the meeting of the Trilateral Group of China, Hungary and Serbia for Traffic and Infrastructure Cooperation, setting dates for certain phases of the project.

According to the plan, the construction of the railway should begin by the end of 2015, after the feasibility study and financial model are agreed upon, with the railway scheduled to be fully completed in 2017.

The 370 km section of the railway between Belgrade and Budapest will significantly improve the transport of passengers and goods between the two countries, as it will decrease the time of travelling of trains from eight to less than three hours.

Once finished, the double track on the route between the Mediterranean and the Danube will enable trains to run as fast as 200 km per hour, and this enables China's land-sea passage to become a new, convenient channel for trade.

One of the biggest expected impacts of the project is promoting the economic development of Hungary, Serbia, and other countries along the passage, as well as to deepen China's cooperation with countries in the region, with the hope of creating new jobs and boosting development of industry and railways.