China Watch Blog

China Watch Blog has learnt that the Southwest Jiaotong University in China’s Sichuan Province is endeavoring to develop the vacuum tube high speed train with a speed of 600 to 1,000 kilometers per hour and is expected to release the train model in the next two to three years.

According to Voice of China, the China’s national radio, on Jan. 30, limited by the energy consumption, noise and other factors in the atmosphere, the actual operating speed of a train is expected not to exceed 400 kilometers per hour at present.

In order to build the higher speed train, scientists proposed a new vacuum tube technology. Its principle is to build up an isolated vacuum tube separating from the outside air to run the maglev train in it.

The vacuum maglev train is then capable of running in a higher speed without wheel track friction and with much lower air resistance.

It was reported that this technology is expected to be widely adopted in around 2030, when the traveling time between Beijing and Guangzhou is expected to be cut into one to 2.5 hours to run the 2,300 kilometers distance.

China Watch Blog has picked up this report that “Global investors are bracing for the end of China’s relentless economic growth, with 45 % saying they expect a financial crisis within five years”.

The report headlined “Investors brace for China crisis” published in a Your Money report in the Sunday Morning Post stated that in addition 40% anticipate a Chinese crisis after 2016, according to a quarterly poll of 1,000 Bloomberg customers who are investors, traders or analysts. Only 7 percent are confident China will indefinitely escape turmoil.

“There is no doubt that China is in the midst of a speculative credit-driven bubble that cannot be sustained,” Stanislav Panis, a currency strategist at TRIM Broker, was quoted as saying by the report.  Panis likes the expected fallout to the aftermath of the US subprime mortgage meltdown.

The report says that investors concerns over China contrasts with government statements on the outlook for the economy. The Politburo said last month that the nation had a “sound base” for stable and fast growth in 2011 after consolidating its recovery.

Fifty-three percent of poll respondents say they believe China is a bubble, while 42% disagree. China’s neighbours are the most concerned:  60% of Asia-based respondents see a bubble in the world’s No. 2 economy.