China looking to invest in HS2
Posted on 06 Feb 2014 and read 3116 times
China has expressed interest in investing in the £50 billion high-speed HS2 rail network. China Railway Group is offering financial support and is proposing building connections from the proposed HS2 interchange on Birmingham’s eastern outskirts to the airport and to cities such as Coventry and Peterborough.
Although Downing Street insists that the main rail line will be funded entirely by the UK tax-payer, Government officials are said to be ‘relaxed’ about Chinese companies bidding for the concession to run the line once it is built, and they have said that Chinese direct investment in stations and other ancillary projects would not be discouraged.
However, the prospect of Chinese involvement in the scheme has been viewed in some Government circles as ‘problematic’. In the past, Beijing’s offer of financial assistance for infrastructure projects has often been contingent on awarding contracts to Chinese firms.
Prime Minister David Cameron has recently welcomed Chinese investment in the UK’s infrastructure, including Heathrow Airport, a nuclear power station in western England and Manchester Airport. Britain has risen from 21st in the list of China’s inward investment destinations in 2010 to fourth.