The core technology of tunnel boring machines has long been controlled by a small group of countries, like Germany and Japan. But in recent years, China has come up with its own technology to build large tunnel boring machines for both domestic and international use. Xia Ruixue tells us more.

A tunnel boring machine was rolled off the production line on June 22nd in Zhengzhou city of central China's Henan Province. It was then exported to Italy for a high-speed railway project linking Milan and Verona. The machine has a diameter of 10.03 meters and an overall length of 155 meters. It weighs 1,800 metric tons.

A tunnel boring machine – better known as TBM -- is used to excavate tunnels. It is meant to withstand a tremendous amount stress, making it a challenge to build and design. However, the TBM in Zhengzhou was not the first of its exports. As of late, the China Railway Engineering Equipment Group – CREG, for short -- has shipped over 50 TBMs to 19 countries and regions, including Malaysia, Singapore, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates.

XIA RUIXUE ZHENGZHOU "Eleven years ago, China could not produce even a single TBM. The global market was dominated by companies from a small group of countries such as Germany and Japan. But now, China has begun to carve out a share of the global market."

China used to buy or rent TBMs from other countries, mostly from Germany. It took CREG 10 years to build the country's first TBMs. Since 2008, it has manufactured over 800 TBMs. It was the world's best seller in 2017 and 2018.

ZHANG ZHIGUO, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER CHINA RAILWAY ENGINEERING EQUIPMENT GROUP CO., LTD "We had very difficult times. But we made it. Thanks to our country's rapid economic growth, we have more chances to innovate. And the Belt and Road Initiative gives us opportunities in the world market."

Other Chinese companies have already made breakthroughs in the production of TBMs. But most clients still require core parts from foreign countries. This only means there's still much left to be done to make TBMs produced in China more competitive in the world market. Xia Ruixue, CGTN, Zhengzhou, Henan Province.