UK Official: Sino-UK High-Speed Rail Cooperation May Follow "MG Pattern"

A senior British official is pointing to China's high-speed rail system as a potential model for the UK.

As CRI's London correspondent Tu Yun reports, it comes just weeks before a high-profile Sino-UK business forum¹ in London, which is expected to see more Chinese investment in Britain.

 
Chris Huhne is Britain's Energy Secretary.

In a recent speech to the ruling Liberal Democrats²' annual autumn conference, he is pointing to China when it comes to promoting the government's green economy campaign.

"Look at China, with six of the biggest renewable companies in the world, installing wind turbines across the South China Sea, building 28 nuclear power stations in the time it will take us to build one, building 10,000 miles of high speed rail in the time that'll take to go from London to Birmingham, covering 40 per cent of the Chinese population with low carbon economy zones. The real risk is not doing too much. It's doing too little and getting left behind."

The UK government is planning a 32-billion-pound high speed rail project, dubbed³ the HS2.

It's expected to have a maximum speed of 400 kilometers per hour, linking London and the Midlands, the North of England, and potentially -- at a later stage -- the central belt of Scotland.

Locals and activist⁴ groups opposed to HS2 have described it as a white elephant, and say it's going to create environmental problems.

Timothy Clement-Jones is the Liberal Democrat's Vice-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary China Group.

"I have seen myself how incredible the high-speed rail network is, reducing the train time from Wuhan to Beijing down to something in like seven hours. We would love to have more high speed rail in the UK. We have to have a modern railway system."

The UK public is highly sensitive about exporting job opportunities at a time when the economy remains⁵ sluggish⁶.

As such, Clement-Jones is suggesting cooperation with China on high-speed rail should follow the MG pattern, namely, rolling stocks manufactured in China and assembled in Britain.

Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming says some companies from China have shown interest.

"We were told construction of this high-speed railway will not be as high speed as in China. It may take much longer time. So we've been asked to be patient. But still some Chinese companies showed their interest to explore the opportunities, in building not only high-speed railways, but also sea ports, some infrastructures⁷. I think there are a lot of business opportunities and job opportunities. You should let the business to decide where to invest. I do hope some contracts will be signed, either in southwest or northwest. Wherever they are, they should be in Britain."

Liu Xiaoming says a high-profile Chinese business delegation⁸ will visit London early in November, during which the UK side will roll out a list for investment.

For CRI, I'm Tu Yun in London.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

7 infrastructures   

n.基础设施( infrastructure的名词复数 )；基础结构；行政机构；秘密机构

参考例句：

• Public transportation termini and depots are important infrastructures for a city. 公交场站设施是城市重要的基础设施。 来自互联网
• The increasingly fast urbanization process requires more and more infrastructures. 我国城市化进程不断加快，对城市基础设施的需求也越来越大。 来自互联网

8 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。