China’s Locomotive Focus

　　ChinAfrica： What made CSR stand out among other competitors to win the contract？ Comparedwith rolling stock produced by rivalcompanies， what are the advantages of CSR’slocomotives？

　　CSR： The reasons include CSR’s innovation capability， awell-established financing platform， a complete industrialchain， as well as our emphasis on win-win cooperation.

　　Besides， the contract we won in 2012 to provide95 electric locomotives to Transnet was efficientlycompleted in eight months from design， manufactureto delivery， praised as “a miracle in the history of rollingstock manufacturing.”

　　Freight transportation capabilities in South Africahave been greatly enhanced in recent years with thegovernment’s increasing investment in railway infrastructureconstruction. Now the country has 30，600km of rail line， with the electric line exceeding 10，000km. When the 359 electric locomotives are put intooperation， both the freight transportation capability andthe utilization efficiency of electricity of South Africa’srailway network will be further improved， while also beinga milestone in the country’s foreign trade.

　　What does the deal mean for the growth of China’smanufacturing industry and globalizationof Chinese enterprises？

　　Globalization has become a new approach for theprosperity of China’s high-end manufacturing industry.The contract is of great significance to the globalizationof Chinese rolling stock manufacturing. With CSRZhuzhou Electric Locomotive as an example， Chineselocomotive producers are upgrading totransfer products， services， technology andinvestment from just selling products andservices. With the biggest volume of overseasorders and the richest experience inexpanding overseas markets， CSR ZhuzhouElectric Locomotive can be the model forthe upgrading and globalization of Chinesehigh-end rolling stock manufacturing.

　　What will the cooperation bring tothe South African job market andeconomy？

　　Based on this export deal， CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotivewill cooperate with local enterprises to establisha locomotive manufacturing base. By transferring ourmanufacturing technology， the rolling stock and relatedindustry will be greatly upgraded in South Africa as wellas surrounding countries. This export will create about30，000 jobs directly and indirectly. When a completeindustrial chain from producing spare parts to finishedlocomotives is established in South Africa， more jobswill be available to locals.

　　When encouraging Chinese enterprises to goabroad during annual sessions of the NationalPeople’s Congress and the Chinese People’sPolitical Consultative Conference in 2014，Chinese Premier Li Keqiang emphasized thequality of products made in China. What doyou think of his remarks and what measureshas CSR taken to guarantee the quality of itsexported products？

　　After decades of development， CSR has accumulatedrich experience in locomotive manufacturing and qualitycontrol. We have also learned from well-known stockrolling producers across the world through cooperationand have established a complete quality control systemthat satisfies not only Chinese standards but alsoEuropean. Our electric locomotives are well-received inforeign markets. The export amounts to 30 billion yuan($4.8 billion) in just three countries， namelyTurkey， Malaysia and South Africa.

　　Does CSR have similar cooperationwith other African countries？

　　The friendly political and smooth trade relationshipsbetween China and Africa duringthe past years have laid a solid foundationfor future deeper bilateral cooperation. Theemerging African economy requires an improvementin infrastructure. Therefore， webelieve that booming Chinese enterpriseshave great value for Africa and there will beextensive cooperation in the field of rollingstock manufacturing.