In the 1950s, the former Soviet Union helped China with railway construction, among other projects, according to Zhou Shijian, a senior researcher at the Institute of Sino-US Relations at Tsinghua University.
"Now, it's our turn to help them build railways," Zhou said. "The deal indicates that our technology has surpassed theirs. Reform and opening up enabled China, a developing nation, to catch up."
An industry insider said China's high-speed railway technology impressed politicians from more than 30 countries during the past years, including those from the US, Britain and Japan.
The capability to build new railway lines for trains of up to 350 kilometers an hour, as well as the relatively lower costs, were the major competitive edges China has, he said.
Think about it, Japan also spends lot of investment in railway, yet they are also very impressed with China's high-speed railway.