中国讨论将高铁卖给美国
State-owned Chinese firms are in discussions to sell high-speed trains to the UnitedStates, senior officials said on Thursday, a deal that would be likely to ignite controversy.
国有的中国公司正在讨论将高铁卖给美国,一名高级官员周四说,这样的交易可能会引发争议。China'sleaders have been promoting the country's fast rail technologies in meetingswith foreign politicians as they seek to move the country's exports up thevalue chain, and Chinese companies are building high-speed rail networks inTurkey and Venezuela.
在与外国政治家会谈时中国领导人总是向他们推销中国的高铁技术,他们想让自己的出口产品进入价值链的顶端,而且中国公司正在土耳其和委内瑞拉建造高铁。But a contract for a Chinese-led consortium to build a high-speed rail line in Mexicowas scrapped only days after it was signed, and a deal to supply subway trains to Boston also generated controversy.
之前,由中国人领导的一家财团竞标获得墨西哥高铁项目后,没过几天就被墨西哥政府取消了,以及向波士顿提供地铁车厢的交易也引发了争议。
For China to build infrastructure in the United States -- where a number of high-speed rail proposals have come to naught -- or supply it with rolling stock would be politically sensitive.
对于中国来说,在美国建造基础设施或者向美国提供轨道车辆,在政治上是非常敏感的。在美国,好几个高铁提议都失败了。But Zhi Luxun, a senior official with the commerce ministry's foreign trade department, told AFP Thursday: "There are currently discussions with the United States."
但是中国商务部外贸司的一位高级官员支陆逊周四对法新社说:“现在正与美国在谈判中。”He wasresponding to a question about possible Chinese exports of high-speed trains.
他在被问及中国是否可能向美国出口高铁时如是说道。Officialsdid not provide further details and said it was a matter for the companiesconcerned.
官员们没有提供更多的细节,称这是相关企业自己的事情。Anumber of high-speed rail projects are under consideration in the United States including in Texas and Florida, but only one has entered the early stages of construction-- in California, under a Spanish consortium -- while others have fallen by the wayside.
在美国,有一些高铁项目正在考虑中,包括了德克萨斯州和佛罗里达的,但是只有一个开始了建造,即加州的,由一个西班牙财团建造。而其他的项目已经半途而废。Only begun in 1999, China's high-speed rail network has quickly become the largest in the world, with more than 16,000 kilometres of track in service last year,Zhi said during a briefing.
中国高铁于1999年开始出现,如今,中国的高铁网络已经成为世界第一,去年,中国的高铁里程就达到了16000公里。The country is also negotiating with Russia, Laos and Thailand on construction ofhigh-speed rail lines there, said Zhou Zhenwu, an official with the commerceministry's department of outward investment and economic cooperation.
中国还正在与俄罗斯,老挝,以及泰国进行高铁建设谈判,商务部对外投资和经济合作司的一名官员称。China's railway equipment exports increased by 34.7 percent annually from $80 millionin 2001 to $3.74 billion last year, Zhi said.
2001年到去年期间,中国铁路设备出口年均增长34.7%,2001年为8000万美元,去年达到了37.4亿美元。