国内英语资讯:Yearender: Railway cooperation helps boost China-Malaysia ties_时事

国内英语资讯:Yearender: Railway cooperation helps boost China-Malaysia ties

Proposed by China in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting countries along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes. It comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

Aside from the 688-km ECRL which will cost 55 billion ringgit (13.5 billion U.S. dollars), a Chinese consortium also won the contract for the electrified double-tracking project of the railway line between Gemas and Johor Baru in southern Malaysia. As for the high speed rail linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, Chinese companies also have long expressed interests.

There is a reason for China's dominance in Malaysian railway projects. Construction giants like the CCCC not only bring the best technologies they can offer, but also create enormous new job opportunities.

Besides, China also helped Malaysia in financing the projects. In the case of ECRL, the Export-Import Bank of China financed 85 percent of the railway with soft loans, while the Malaysian government provided the remaining 15 percent.

The CCCC's president Liu Qitao told Xinhua that more than 80,000 new jobs will be created during the construction period of ECRL, while some 6,000 jobs will be retained after the completion of the project.

As Malaysia's transport minister, Liow Tiong Lai knows better about Chinese-made rolling-stock. After visiting the headquarters of China Railway Rolling-stock Corp. (CRRC) in Changsha earlier this year, Liow pledged that Malaysia will purchase more Chinese-made trains.