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Text丨Berry heart shellfish
Editor丨Berry Heart Shell
What is this operation in Uzbekistan?
After 27 years of preparation, I wanted to cooperate with China Railway, but only a week after signing the contract with China, I turned around and went to buy South Korean high-speed rail!
This kind of miraculous operation makes people feel incredible, could it be that Uzbekistan has been preparing for 27 years and intends to use China as a spare tire?
What is the difference between China and South Korea high-speed rail?
Uzbekistan's intentions for cooperation with China
As early as 1997, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway proposed at the Paris Conference that once the railway is completed, it will play a huge role in the development of China's trade, and China's goods can be transported to the markets of Eastern Europe and Middle Eastern countries through this railway.
The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway can greatly shorten the transportation time of goods, according to the plan, it will shorten the transportation time by 7 to 8 days, which greatly promotes the trade between the three countries and is conducive to promoting the economic development between the countries.
Therefore, when the railway was first proposed, China actively promoted the construction of the railway, and in 1997 the three countries signed a memorandum of understanding on the railway project.
The heads of state of China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan congratulate the signing of the trilateral agreement on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project by video, Xinhua News Agency 2024-06-06
I thought that this project for the benefit of the country and the people would start soon, but what I didn't expect was that due to the continuous opinions on the railway project between the three countries, and the construction of transnational railway projects is relatively difficult, it is normal for the progress of this project to develop slowly.
Cross-border railway projects involve political and economic aspects between different countries, and the political and economic development of each country is different, and the construction of railways requires consultation between countries.
The biggest problem in the construction of the railway is to face different terrain and landforms, which also requires the state to invite professionals to carry out topographic surveys.
Finally, there is the question of investment in the construction of the railway, which is planned to be about 523 kilometers and requires a lot of capital and technology, but the economic conditions of Kyrgyzstan are not enough to support the huge railway funds.
At this time, China said that it could invest in the construction of the railway, which was also out of consideration for the long-term benefits that the successful construction of the railway would bring, and solved the problem of financing the construction of the railway.
In recent years, the governments of all three countries have attached great importance to this railway project, which led to the signing of a cooperation agreement between the three countries in 2024, and the 27-year effort has finally come to fruition.
It is expected that the cross-border railroad will be built successfully, after all, it will help Middle Eastern and Eastern European countries reduce their dependence on the United States for economic and trade purposes, and expand their influence in the market.
At the same time, after the completion of the railway, it can provide a large number of investment and employment opportunities, which can greatly improve people's economic level and solve the poverty problem of residents near the railway.
In terms of culture, the completion of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway will strengthen cultural exchanges between countries. The development of tourism has also brought a lot of economic benefits to the local area, and only with an economic foundation can we improve the construction of social infrastructure and improve people's happiness index.
Uzbekistan "backstabs" China?
Just when people were happy about the success of the signing, there was news that Uzbekistan and South Korea had signed a contract to purchase high-speed rail, and the high-speed rail was bought before the railway was completed?
South Korea and Uzbekistan signed a contract for the supply of high-speed rail, Jiemian News, 2024.06.14
According to reports, Uzbekistan has purchased six high-speed trains with a speed of 250 kilometers per hour from South Korea, and one train has only seven carriages, you know, the high-speed rail carriages currently in operation in China are generally 8 or 16 carriages.
A large number of carriages means a large number of people or goods that can be carried, and Uzbekistan has just signed a railway cooperation with China, isn't it more convenient to buy high-speed rail directly from China, why buy high-speed rail from South Korea?
South Korea's high-speed rail technology is French technology, and the operation technology has not yet reached the standards of experts, and in 2004 the media exposed some troubling problems on the high-speed rail.
For example, the economy seats on the high-speed rail are too narrow, and passengers will feel very uncomfortable sitting in the position; There is also the fact that the seat of the passenger sits in the opposite direction of the train, although the high-speed rail will not be bumpy during the journey, but the opposite direction on the train will still make the passenger feel a little uncomfortable and affect the passenger experience.
In response to these circumstances, the relevant departments in South Korea are also the most quick to take countermeasures to correct these minor problems to meet the needs of passengers.
Although there are fewer seats on the train, this does not mean that there are fewer passengers on the train, and there are standing tickets on the high-speed rail in South Korea, just like the subway.
South Korea's economic problems have led many people to choose high-speed rail as a means of transportation, and South Korea's small size means that it only takes a few hours to cross the entire country.
Therefore, after 142 days of operation, South Korea's high-speed rail set a world record of more than 10 million passengers, becoming one of the most important means of transportation in South Korea.
South Korea's high-speed rail is profitable in the early stage of operation, and in the later stage, it will maintain the profitability of high-speed rail by introducing other means, perhaps Uzbekistan has taken a fancy to this, so it chose to buy high-speed rail from South Korea.
If you talk about high-speed rail technology alone, South Korea is certainly not as skilled as China's high-speed rail technology, but South Korea has given Uzbekistan a lot of other benefits in order to break the record of zero high-speed rail exports.
South Korea has provided Uzbekistan with additional high-speed rail maintenance services, and has also promised that Uzbekistan will be able to obtain South Korea's infrastructure and mineral investment cooperation by purchasing high-speed rail from South Korea. This is a profitable and harmless deal for the economy of Uzbekistan.
It was the signing of this purchase agreement with Uzbekistan that broke South Korea's 20-year record of zero high-speed rail exports.
Comparison of high-speed rail in China and South Korea
Due to the different land areas of China and South Korea, the number of high-speed rail journeys in South Korea is not as good as that of China. According to statistics, the mileage of China's high-speed rail will rank first in the world in 2023.
In terms of the running speed of high-speed rail, some high-speed trains in China have reached a speed of 350 kilometers per hour, while the maximum speed of high-speed rail in South Korea is only 305 kilometers per hour, and the speed of high-speed rail on some lines is lower than this speed.
Moreover, China's self-developed high-speed rail technology has played an important role in maintaining the safety of high-speed rail in the future. However, South Korea mainly uses the technology of other countries, which is very unfavorable for the follow-up work.
Anyone who has taken the mainland high-speed rail knows that the high-speed rail station is very spacious and tidy, the facilities on the train are perfect, the seats are comfortable, the train staff are very careful in treating passengers, and the passengers' riding experience is great.
However, South Korea's high-speed rail facilities are relatively old, and the passenger experience is relatively poor.
The most important thing for high-speed rail is the stability and safety of the train, after all, safety is the most important thing for people, and the mainland attaches great importance to the safety of the train, and the mainland has also carried out high-speed train crash tests.
High-speed rail also has a "crash test", the results are reassuring, Hunan Daily 2023-07-25
The test results are reassuring, and it also proves that China's high-speed rail is recognized as the safest high-speed rail in the world, and the safety performance of the mainland's high-speed rail has reached the leading level.
Nowadays, China's high-speed railways are all over China, safely transporting countless passengers, which is the proudest thing for countless Chinese! It is also reasonable for Uzbekistan to choose South Korea's high-speed rail for the sake of profit, and we cannot judge Uzbekistan for doing something wrong.
epilogue
Uzbekistan's move by funding technology to help build railways and foster deeper trade ties between the two countries is chilling.
At the same time, it also makes us realize how fierce the competition in the international market is, and only when the country is strong can we not be afraid of these competitive means!
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