California looks to China, foreign investors for infrastructure assistance

Global Business

China’s high-speed trains carry about 800 million passengers every year – that’s more than any other country.

And the U.S. is now in talks to get on board as business and political leaders gather in San Francisco for China-U.S. infrastructure forum.

CGTN’s May Lee reports.

Infrastructure in the U.S. is ailing from roadways to rail systems. All the more reason China with its much advancement in infrastructure development is ready and willing to forge partnerships to upgrade systems across America.

That’s the purpose of the U.S.-China Infrastructure Cooperation Forum in San Francisco, a one-day gathering of Chinese and American business and political leaders from both the public and private sectors. Representatives from California, Oregon and the state of Washington aggressively pitched major infrastructure needs and the potential for partnerships with Chinese entities.

Of the 20, 000 kilometers of railway in China, 12,000 are high speed. That number is expected to double by 2020. California welcomes Chinese technology and investment. But all of this will cost a lot of money, and government alone can’t cover the estimated $3.6 trillion that will be needed by 2020 for infrastructure improvements.

Finance experts say the U.S. has to catch up in the area of public-private sector partnerships in the infrastructure space, traditionally funded by public funds.

The forum however wasn’t just about U.S. needs. China’s One Belt One Road Initiative was brought up several times as a way for American companies take part in big infrastructure projects in Asia and Europe, but only if the U.S. chooses to participate.