Rail transit expo showcases China's competitive posture

The 2023 China International Rail Transit and Equipment Manufacturing Industry Exposition opened in Zhuzhou, Hunan province, on Friday.

Themed "Smart Rail Links to the Future", the event, which runs until Sunday, has attracted more than 1,200 representatives from 600 enterprises at home and abroad.

Zhuzhou is the largest rail transit manufacturing base in China. The city has 425 enterprises in its rail transit manufacturing industrial chain, with products exported to more than 100 countries and regions. The total production volume of the city's rail transit industry exceeded 150 billion yuan ($21 billion) last year, up by 12 percent year-on-year, according to the local government.

Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said the manufacturing industry is the foundation for China, and the Chinese government attaches great importance to its development.

The rail transit and manufacturing industry is one of China's most competitive in the world, he said, and scientific research and innovation in the sector are continuing. The country now has the world's largest rail transit market and equipment manufacturing system, Ren said.

Since it was first held in 2019, the expo has become a platform for open and win-win cooperation, he said.

"We hope you can make good use of the platform for exchange and operation and achieve practical outcomes," he told attendees.