China's own railway technology hits Russia in an unprecedented bid to expand internationally. The contract between China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group (CREEC) and a Russian firm was said to be worth 20.8 billion Rubles or approximately $380 million.

According to China Times, the Russian Railways has been working on designing the 770 kilometer railway that will connect Moscow and Kazan, including surveying prior to construction. The project is estimated to be completed by 2018, an endeavor that will benefit millions of passengers each year. Said to have a design speed of 400 km/hr, the usual travel time of 14 hours from Moscow to Kazan will be reduced to only 3 and a half hour after the project.

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According to The Independent, the actual cost for the construction alone of the high speed railway is estimated to be around 1.06 trillion Rubles or approximately 12.35 billion Euros. Because of the gap between the Russian government and NATO, the Kremlin initiated talks between Russia and China. The improbable deals between the United States and Europe also gave way to China, getting the most of the railway project.

Vladimir Yakunin of the Russian Railways said, "It is quite likely, of course the one who is participating in the planning has an advantage. This is obvious."

Aside from the said partnership, the two countries also made a deal in the financial sector, agreeing to finance  $25 billion companies in Russia, from Chinese Banks. Besides the railway project, it was during the Ukraine crisis that Russia's President Vladimir Putin made a deal worth 237 billion euros to plan and construct a gas pipeline to China.

After years of successful domestic railway projects, China has finally made their first step in expanding internationally, after Mexico and Thailand rejected their railway contractor's services. The rejection only intensified Chinese contractors to improve their product and enhance the technology that came with it.

CREEC President Zhu Ying said, "The contract means a lot to railway enterprises just setting out on their global journey. The improvement of the high speed rail industry builds their confidence."

Tagsrailway, china expansion, railway industry, Russia, China Tech