Recently, Germany unilaterally announced the suspension of exporting high-speed rail wheels to China, worth up to 80 million US dollars, in order to cooperate with the US "technology war." The United States mocked China, questioning how they could build high-speed rail without wheels. China, known for its extensive high-speed rail network spanning 40,000 kilometers, has been reliant on Western countries like Germany and Japan for key components such as high-speed bearings.
China's high-speed rail expansion has attracted orders from countries like Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Southeast Asia, but it has also exposed vulnerabilities in the supply chain. Previously, cooperation between China and Western giants in the high-speed rail industry was relatively harmonious. However, the situation changed when Germany and Japan aligned with the US in the technology war.
The German decision to halt exports of high-speed rail wheels to China is seen as a self-interested strategy, considering their former dominance in the high-speed rail sector. The US government expressed satisfaction with this development, questioning China's ability to continue building high-speed rail without the necessary components. German and Japanese experts even speculated that China would be unable to produce high-speed rail wheels independently for at least five years.
In response, Chinese high-speed rail personnel launched a counterattack to address the situation.