On September 14, 2017, in Gujarat, the hometown of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Modi joined hands in a project costing 14.7 billion U.S. dollars and a total length of 505 kilometers. The construction of the Mumbai- Ahmedabad Railway has laid the cornerstone for a grand groundbreaking ceremony. In the eyes of the Indian and Japanese media, this not only symbolizes that the cooperation between the "two largest democracies in Asia" has reached an unprecedented level. At the same time, this means that Japan's high-speed rail has defeated its strong competitor, China, and has taken the lead in the fierce competition for high-speed rail in Asia.
However, more than five years later, this high-speed rail project, which the Japanese placed high expectations for, has become the first unfinished case in the history of Japan’s high-speed rail. To some extent, thanks to Japan snatching this project from China, China was prevented from falling into the trap of India's high-speed rail. So, why did Indonesia choose China instead of Japan? What is the progress of the hyperloop network that China will build to connect the entire ASEAN? OK, that and more is exactly what we are going to talk about. Let’s get started!
