Slashdot Mirror
China To Merge High-Speed Train Makers To Cut Competition
hackingbear writes China has two high-speed train makers, the China Northern Railcar Corp. (CNR) and China Southern Railcar Corp. (CSR). Despite both being state-owned companies, the two are really competing with each other in the international high-speed train market, undercutting prices. Now, the Chinese government is set to fix that by asking the two to merge. [More details in a paywalled article at the Wall Street Journal.] Such a deal also would raise questions about China's determination to enforce monopoly laws that have been under a microscope in recent months as foreign companies including dairy makers, car makers including Volkswagen AG 's Audi, and technology companies Microsoft Corp. and Qualcomm Corp. have been investigated by antitrust authorities. However, as we haven't been complaining about China's low prices hurting our business, shouldn't China raising the price be good for other train makers?
China's "antitrust" push is a very easy way to steal trade secrets. Antitrust investigations let you seize corporate hard drives, which means you can share them with competitors whom you happen to like--i.e. your companies.
However, as we haven't been complaining about China's low prices hurting our business, shouldn't China raising the price be good for other train makers?
I don't see how this is good for any other train makers other than China. China's train maker will still undercut the price, and now will simply have one less company that it is betting against when doing so, ensuring that it undercuts the price by the least amount needed to win the contracts. The only one that wins in China in the long run when it forces all the other train manufacturers out of business and then wins the contracts by fiat as the only entity.
We were all warned a long time ago that MS products sucked, remember the Magic 8 Ball said, "Outlook not so good"
You're an idiot. Please don't bother posting any more. Thanks.
It doesn't matter what internal "rules" a country or its homegrown companies break, all may be forgiven. However, if any foreign companies break those rules, hellfire shall rain down on them.
It's not just China. The US does the same thing, as do many, many other countries just not with the same methods.
Please remind me how their is no corruption in your country again
Easy, we give the politicians the power to define what is corruption and what isn't
Since we already gave the politicians the power to define what is Liberty what isn't, why not?
Next they can get to define what is wealth, what is poverty; Who we are allowed to mingle with; What we are allowed to think; What kind of life we deserve to have; What is war, what is peace; and before we know it, George Orwell yells from his grave, "I TOLD YOU SO ! I TOLD YOU SO !!!!"
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
If China's prices undercut our own train makers, that is great news for our *consumers* - companies that run trains or use trains for transport and individuals who use trains for transport. Contrariwise if China raises the price of trains that almost certainly hurts more Americans than it helps, just like most other price increases.
I play Nerd-Folk!
Source: I'm a Chinese American currently in China
I am an American Chinese currently in America, and unlike you, I was born in China, and knew China from inside and out so much so that I ran away from it
The current China is more capitalistic than the United States of America - in China you won't see nonsense like the Obamacare because, according to the Chinese culture everyone is supposed to taking care of one's own life, and health
The government's job is to protect the country and to ensure that the society doesn't falter. It ain't the government's job to cuddle the people (at least Confucius never says so)
Although I ain't a Chinese national anymore I am still a(n ethnic) Chinese through and through and I happen to agree with what the government of China is doing
To say that China is going back to Communism is to lie with both eyes wide open. Xi is no communist, in fact, he is *VERY* afraid of the "deep red" faction within the CCP, that is why there are so much "anti-graft" operations around --- all designed to crush his opponents, the "deep red" faction of the Tai Zhi Dang
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
What is a "high-speed train"? I live in the US and am not familiar with the term.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Now, the Chinese government is set to fix that by asking the two to merge
Obviously by "fix that" they mean price fixing. Competition is not allowed there.
Damn right. If history teaches us anything it's that there is no waste or mismanagement in private industry. This is why no new products are ever invented because, if the market was there, the products will have been there since the need emerged.
RTFA - the two company were original one and the same - China National Railway Locomotive & Rolling Stock Industry Corporation (LORIC), which was founded in 1986 (as a commercial enterprise and successor of the govermental Industry Administration of the Railway Ministry) and then split up into two in 2000 at the order of the central government.
The reason for the split-up was to break up monopoly and encourage competition, which it did. However, it also created new problems: waste of resources (duplicate R&D, administration), over-production and cutthroat competition. Especially the excess production capacity is the main drive for a re-merge.
It's also important to note that even after the split, both companies have remained state-own enterprises all this time. So the competition between them was always heavily influenced by politics and policy considerations, never truly market-oriented.
Yep. All of these companies (and Germany's Siemens who are supplying AAF and a lot of State commuter systems) have US manufacturing plants specifically to be compliant with this requirement.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
Actually, most cities in the eastern half of the US are close enough to support high-speed rail between them.
There are plenty of places where high speed rail is a possibility but there are lots of economic and logistical problems. The problem is that the supporting infrastructure just isn't there. You need to have basically all the amenities of an airport at both ends for it to be viable. (Parking, ground transportation, etc) After all, what good does high speed rail do you if you are stuck at the terminal at the other end of the trip? Passenger rail depots have been mostly neglected and/or dismantled in the US. I used to live in Saint Louis and the train station there is now a mall. Good luck converting it back for high speed rail use.
High-speed rail already exists over much longer distances in countries like France, Spain, and Russia.
France is almost exactly the same size as the state of Texas. Big area but WAY smaller than the US. Russia is far more similar and they have a few high speed lines but not many. I'd love to see some high speed rail lines but I don't really see it happening in a meaningful way in most of the US. Too much cost for the right-of-ways, too little political will, neglected infrastructure at the destinations, etc. I'm sure we'll see one here or there but mostly I think the US will continue to rely on cars and airplanes for better or worse.