MORE than 100 leading manufacturers from 14 countries displayed equipment and technology at Modern Railways '93 Shanghai, which ended at the city's exhibition centre yesterday, according to newspaper reports.
The five-day fair provided an important chance for Chinese transport and manufacturing companies to obtain foreign equipment and technology to meet the demands of the country's newly revised railway construction plan, Chen Jiyan, chief of the Railway Ministry's general business and foreign affairs division told the China Daily.
''China plans to use at least US$1.6 billion in foreign capital and loans on railway construction and renovation during the Eighth Five-Year Plan (1991-95),'' Mr Chen said.
The money includes $750 million in World Bank loans plus Japanese government credit of about $1 billion.
Mr Chen said China would spend heavily in the next three years to build 6,600 kilometres of new lines, double track another 4,100 km and electrify a further 5,600 km.
Development of such magnitude requires China to seek materials and equipment from abroad, making particular use of foreign loans.