China and Germany have agreed to strengthen cooperation in the
railway sector, the Ministry of Railways said in Beijing on
Tuesday.
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Minister Liu Zhijun and visiting German Minister of Transport,
Building and Housing Manfred Stolpe signed an agreement in Beijing
the day before to enhance technological and personnel training
exchange.
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They also agreed to exchange high-level officials regularly to
refresh each other's management ideas.
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China's first maglev train, which was built in cooperation with
Germany, started test operations at the end of 2002 from Shanghai's
Pudong airport to the city center.
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There has been a massive nationwide railway construction program to
extend the length of total operational tracks from 75,000
kilometers in 2005 to 100,000 kilometers by 2020.
China can currently only meet one-third of freight transport
demand.
(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2005)