China is reportedly looking to sell high-speed passenger trains to the state of California as part of a project that will whisk passengers between Los Angeles and San Francisco in under three hours.  

China's state-owned Tangshan Railway, a unit of China CNR Corporation, and U.S.-based SunGroup USA are submitting an expression of interest regarding a $68 billion high-speed rail project in California, reports Reuters.

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The move could be part of a long-term strategy by the Chinese government to export its bullet trains to North America.

The news comes amid reports that four Chinese companies are part of a consortium that is the sole bidder on a project to build a $4.3 billion, 130-mile high-speed passenger train link between Mexico City and Queretaro.

"We believe that high-speed rail is something that China does very well, and it's a product that we can export across the world," SunGroup spokesman Jonathan Sun (yes that's his real name) told Reuters.

Potential bidders are required to submit expressions of interest to the California High Speed Railway Authority by Oct. 22. The authority will later issue formal requests for proposals.

"We are going to have the first true high-speed rail system in America and industry leaders from around the world are eager to talk to us about why their trains should be running on our tracks," said Authority CEO Jeff Morales.

The Authority is looking for the high-speed rail manufacturers to submit information regarding possible trainset procurements. It also wants to know how the bidding manufacturers propose to comply with Buy America and Buy California provisions.

The Buy America provisions are laws intended to ensure that federal transportation infrastructure projects are built with American-made products. This could be a potential obstacle for the group.

The Authority's initial procurement is expected to be for a base order for production of as many p to 95 trainsets. The trainsets will have a minimum of 450 seats and is expected to be able to shuttle passengers between Los Angeles and San Francisco in under than three hours. 

TagsChina to pitch high-speed trains to California, high-speed passenger trains, China CNR Corporation, Tangshan Railway, $68 billion high-speed rail project, SunGroup, California High Speed Railway Authority, an expression of interest, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Buy America provisions