Market size of high-speed rail based on investment volume in China 2014-2023

Chinese railway infrastructure is a huge market with some 634 billion yuan invested into high-speed infrastructure alone in 2018. The figure has been steadily on the rise since 2014 and was estimated to kept growing in the next few years, reaching around 667 billion in 2023.

Chinese investments abroad

As well as investing inwardly, China is one of the leading countries in the world providing foreign direct investment. One of the key targets of these investments is transportation infrastructure. The Belt and Road Initiative, for example, aims modernize trade routes across the world. This will create more efficient and attractive outlets for Chinese imports and exports, as well as increase Chinese leverage in those regions. The investments also form a part of foreign policy which add weight in trade talks.

China high-speed rail market

The global demand for high-speed rail increased in the past decade. The technology is expected to continue growing in demand in developing nations and those with little existing infrastructure, especially in Asia. China is an attractive bidder for high-speed projects because they have become one of the leaders of high-speed rail technology whilst usually remaining the cheaper option. The Chinese market leaders in this field are namely China Railway Group Limited and China Railway Construction Group Corp, both together accounting for a market share of 90 percent in the high-speed railway construction market in China.