China's Booming Rolling Stock: Chinese train maker seizes chances to grow faster and go global

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And as China's railway equipment makers go global, our reporter Wang Mengzhen has visited CRRC Sifang in Shandong Province. That's where over 40 percent of the country's high-speed trains are developed.

Three days left for the latest train body strength test. Zhang Zhiqiang and his co-workers are making final preparations at this engineering lab in CRRC Sifang.

ZHANG ZHIQIANG, DEPUTY DIRECTOR NAT'L ENGINEERING LABORATORY FOR HIGH-SPEED TRAIN, CRRC SIFANG "The current test is for our next generation metro vehicles made of carbon-fiber composite materials. The new trains are greener and lighter in weight."

With 18 test rigs in total, this national lab has already conducted more than 200 tests in 2018.

ZHANG ZHIQIANG, DEPUTY DIRECTOR NAT'L ENGINEERING LABORATORY FOR HIGH-SPEED TRAIN, CRRC SIFANG "Engineers here have a heavy workload since we need to test the performance of vehicle models in different areas and components such as bogies and carbody shells."

China started to introduce high-speed trains and technology from abroad in 2004. From imports to manufacturing at home, Chinese train manufacturers like Sifang have come a long way.

TAO GUIDONG, DEPUTY CHIEF ENGINEER CRRC SIFANG "Chinese railway systems have evolved in the last century. And we expedited our efforts after introducing foreign models. We conducted numerous tests to adapt to real situations in different regions of China."

2010 is often thought as the landmark year, since Sifang developed its own electric high-speed train known as the CRH 380A.

In 2017, the first batch of Fuxing bullet trains, which can run up to 350km per hour, started operations between Beijing and Shanghai.

WANG MENGZHEN QINGDAO "Behind me is the Fuxing high speed train developed by Sifang. It represents the latest in China's rolling stocks development. As the company reiterates, what's most important are still the ongoing efforts to push ahead with innovation in core technologies."

With the country's booming rolling stock, Sifang is now eyeing overseas markets.

GONG RUIMING, GENERAL MANAGER OVERSEAS BUSINESS DIVISION, CRRC SIFANG "We could not simply go out, rather we need to integrate with the local market. What we are offering our clients are not just customized products, but a life-circle technical support and services."

So far, the rolling stock equipment maker has received export orders of more than 5000 vehicles, covering over 20 countries and regions. WMZ, CGTN, QINGDAO, SHANDONG.