Vietnam Abandons High-Speed Rail Plan with Siemens, Insider Says the Only Purpose Was to Pressure China, But Beijing Remained Unmoved!
Recently, Vingroup, the company of Vietnam's richest man Pham Nhat Vuong, announced in a high-profile manner that it would partner with German industrial giant Siemens to invest 67 billion US dollars to build a high-speed railway crossing the north and south of Vietnam. The news immediately led the outside world to believe that Vietnam's high-speed rail finally had a chance.
However, just 8 days later, Pham Nhat Vuong suddenly changed his stance, stating that "the project was not feasible" and officially abandoned the cooperation. This sudden turn left the outside world saying "it's hard to understand," but the matter is actually not difficult to comprehend.
According to insiders, the reason Vietnam announced the cooperation with Siemens was actually only to pressure China, hoping that China would feel the pressure and get involved in Vietnam's high-speed rail project.
As early as the 2000s, Vietnam had repeatedly proposed the concept of a high-speed rail, contacting Japan, South Korea, France, and even Russia, but all were put on hold due to high costs or financing difficulties. In fact, the country that truly has complete high-speed rail technology, financial strength, and construction experience is only China.
However, Vietnam has always tried to force China to make concessions at the negotiation table, such as requiring technology transfer, local production, or even waiving part of the loan interest. However, China has always refused to comply, because it is impossible to do a losing business.
With no progress for a long time, Vietnam became impatient and frequently contacted Alstom, Japan's Shinkansen, and Germany's Siemens. Each contact caused a big commotion, yet the purpose was only one: to pressure China.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1852809387444233/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.