Zhejiang and the future of Chinese rail
Can China recover from the biggest blow yet to its high-speed rail ambitions?
On Saturday, July 23, 40 people were killed and nearly 200 injured after a high speed train crashed into a stalled train in China’s eastern Zhejiang province.
The accident was the biggest blow yet to China’s high-speed rail ambitions, which have been highlighted as a symbol of the country’s rising economic and technological prowess.
Weeks after the incident, China has decided to recall 54 bullet trains, suspend the construction of all new railway projects and increase safety checks on its train network.
In this show we ask: What caused the incident? And what has the Chinese government done so far to try to contain the public anger?
Inside Story, with presenter Shakuntala Santhiran, discusses with guests: Cheng Li, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; François Godement, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations; and Lei Wang, a fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.