Chinese rail investment in UK raises safety and corruption concerns
Doubts cast on mainland involvement in costly British high-speed transport development
Premier Li Keqiang's offer to invest in Britain's HS2 high-speed railway project will be a political and financial boon to the British government, analysts say, but there will be concerns over safety and corruption in the Chinese rail industry.
Zhang Fan, an investor relations manager at China Railway Group, a state-owned rail construction firm listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong, confirmed it was in talks with Britain over HS2.
An HS2 spokesman said it would welcome Chinese investment in the £42.6 billion (HK$543.5 billion) high-speed railway that would link London with Birmingham.
Li had pledged to invest in the project, the reported.
In a letter to the Birmingham City Council, China Railway offered to build links to the city's airport and other cities, the report said.
"It's a savvy way for China to go in. It may relieve the UK government's political headache over the cost," said Richard di Bona, who runs a transport consultancy in Hong Kong.
Richard Laudy, the infrastructure head at British law firm Pinsent Masons, said the British government was "very open to investment from China" because the level of debt in Britain meant it needed to look elsewhere for finance.
