Luciano Libanori, chairman for the first day conference of the China Rail World Summit 2007, speaks at the opening ceremony in Beijing on Thursday, October 25, 2007. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

As China's railway industry runs on a high-speed track of development, the Chinese government wants to invite foreign investments into its rail sector. Once informed of the possibilities, many international railway companies show enthusiasm for cooperation with China. At the China Rail Summit 2007, which opened Thursday in Beijing, international firms address their concerns and share experiences.

As is indicated in Medium- and Long-term Railway Network Planning report issued in 2004, China will invest 2,000 billion yuan into railway construction by 2020. Since the huge capital need could not be filled by government funding, foreign investment is a favorable option for China's development of its rail industry. However, foreign investors are rarely involved in the urban railway transportation industry, not to mention in large-scale railway projects.

Luciano Libanori is the Resident Manager for Asia of Italy's Asnsaldo STS, which specializes in the transportation and signaling area. He speaks from a foreign firm's perspective:

"People from different countries are afraid to invest money. Obstacles could be relationship difficulties in terms of mutual understanding. Foreign investors want assurance from the Chinese government to guarantee the market in China, not to be used for getting the funding and then to not be able to enter the market as expected."

Luciano Libanori is also the chairman for the first day conference of China Rail World Summit 2007. He expressed belief that the event will facilitate foreign companies to enter China.

"All the companies are willing to invest and be involved in this growing market. For sure, there could be opportunities for all the companies to have facilitation in doing business in China. That will be more than welcome".

Meanwhile, many other participating companies see the summit as a platform for sharing experiences. Massimo Scavarda is the Project Manager of an Italian train design company, Stile Bertone. He said his company has had a 7-year long cooperation with China and they will introduce some new designs to China at the event.

"I suppose this event is a window for accepting something new. At this event, we want to only show our experiences to the Chinese people. And we don't want to design an Italian train in China, but we want to design a Chinese train in Italian style."

At the two-day summit, the delegates will also discuss signaling and communication solutions for Chinese railways, innovative financing options for railway construction and essential railway engineering and technology in China.

The summit, initiated last year, is known as the largest industry event keeping up with the high-speed railway construction in China.