Transport Secretary Grant Shapps DISMISSES idea China could build HS2 saying NO talks have taken place with ministers – and swiping that Beijing does not need to worry about laws or property rights
- China Railway Construction Corporation has said it can build HS2 in five years
- Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says the government is not talking to Beijing
- Mr Shapps pointed out China doesn’t need to worry about law or property rights
Grant Shapps today dismissed claims China could help build HS2 – swiping that Beijing does not need to worry about laws or property rights.
The Transport Secretary tried to quash the idea saying the government has had no talks with the Chinese about taking a role in the massive scheme.
He also pointed out that the authoritarian state can only construct such projects so quickly because it does not have the same protections for its citizens.
The comments came after it emerged the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) had approached HS2 Ltd saying it could build the new links in just five years – rather than the 10-plus currently mooted – and at a fraction of the estimated £100billion cost.
Interviewed on BBC’s Andrew Marr show this morning, Mr Shapps said he understood a letter had been written to HS2 Ltd, but made clear the government was not involved.
On the BBC’s Andrew Marr show today, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps tried to quash the idea of the Chinese about taking a role in the massive HS2 scheme.
Boris Johnson is pictured during a tour of the new High Speed 2 rail project construction in Birmingham earlier this month
He stressed that ministers are ready to ‘talk to anybody who we can learn from’.
But he added: ‘They don’t have our planning system, they don’t have our legal system, they don’t have to respect people’s property rights in the same way.’
In a dig at the loose protections for workers’ rights in China, he added: ‘We don’t expect to lose people when we’re doing it.’
Mr Shapps said HS2 was a huge project. ‘We’re not going to build it in five years,’ he added.
Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, voiced alarm after the claims about Chinese involvement emerged last week.
He said: ‘Britain needs to think hard about how we partner with countries that don’t share our respect for human rights or the rule of law.
‘The price of the project may be lower but the cost to our sovereignty could be higher than we ever imagined. There’s no point in taking back control from Brussels only to hand it over to Beijing.’
Mr Tugendhat was an outspoken critic of the Government’s decision to allow the Chinese tech giant Huawei a role in building the UK’s 5G network.
US president Donald Trump was also said to be ‘apoplectic’ with rage over the company having even a limited role in the communications network.
China has offered to build a cheaper, faster HS2 service in just five years (pictured is an artist’s impression of an HS2 train on the Birmingham and Fazeley viaduct)
Boris Johnson gave the green light for the HS2 scheme to go ahead earlier this month – despite an official review warning costs could reach over £100 billion, against a budget of £62 billion.
Under current plans the final stretch of the line is not due to be completed until 2040 – although Mr Johnson has said he wants that brought forward to 2035.
However, the CRCC wrote to HS2 Ltd’s chief executive last month saying it could build the line by the middle of the decade, for a much reduced price tag.
The letter reportedly stated: ‘We are certain that we can offer a cost that is significantly lower than the projections we have seen.
Boris Johnson gave HS2 the green light earlier this month despite total cost estimates reaching more than £100billion, against a budget of £62 billion
‘The advantages are too great, in our opinion, too great to dismiss on the basis that there are obstacles to overcome.
‘You will find that the Chinese way is to seek solutions, not linger on obstacles and difficulties.’
CRCC has transformed China’s transport system, building most of the country’s 15,500-mile high-speed network.
However, British officials are said to be sceptical that it could operate in the same way in a democracy with property rights, protected landscapes and powerful lobbying groups.
Any move to give Beijing a further role in the UK’s infrastructure would almost certainly prove controversial, after Mr Johnson reportedly incurred the wrath of US President Donald Trump – as well as upsetting many Tory MPs – with his decision to allow tech giant Huawei to supply equipment for the 5G mobile network.