Can China’s high-speed railways get its economy back on track?
- Investments in railway-related fixed assets increased by 23.4 per cent in the first eight months of 2023, and Beijing hopes the infrastructure boom will help stabilise economic growth
- China is expected to add 2,500km (1,553 miles) of high-speed lines this year, which would expand its world-leading system to 44,500km
Calls are rising in China for more high-speed railways to meet rising demand and boost the national economy.
China is expected to add 2,500km (1,553 miles) of high-speed lines this year, which would bring the system’s total length to 44,500km.
Three new lines – Fuzhou-Xiamen, Guangzhou-Shanwei, and Shanghai-Nanjing Riverside – were launched in the lead-up to the eight-day “golden week” holiday that begins on Friday.
“We expect the average annual investment [from China State Railway Group] will increase 18 per cent from 2023-25, compared with last year,” Zheshang Securities said in a report, stressing the role that railway investments play in stabilising economic growth.
Investments in railway-related fixed assets have increased at a much faster rate than for other infrastructure construction. They were up 23.4 per cent in the first eight months of 2023, year on year, whereas road-related investments, which is financed by debt-ridden provincial and municipal authorities, were up only 1.9 per cent, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on September 15.