China-U.S. Bullet Train Deal Derailed

(Beijing) – Nine months after announcing that a Chinese consortium would build a high-speed rail line from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, the private U.S. company behind the plan said June 9 that the deal was terminated, denting China's ambitions to export its train technology.

XpressWest, a rail company in the U.S. state of Nevada, said in an online statement that the decision to end the partnership with China Railway International (U.S.) Group Ltd., was based "primarily upon difficulties associated with timely performance and CRI's challenges in obtaining required authority to proceed with required development activities."