Zhuzhou: From cradle of Chinese locomotives to world-class rail innovation hub

ONE WORLD, ONE DREAM

China's high-quality innovative development has helped change people's lives around the world.

In India, Amit Mak is now used to taking the metro train to avoid traffic jams.

"Not only the quality of the rolling stock, but the inside is comfortable. It provides all kinds of comfort as well as convenience and a cool atmosphere," he said.

Dilip Jadeja, vice president of IL&FS Rail Ltd. in India, said "A metro line also brings in development along the metro corridor, with office and business complexes, shopping malls and housing complexes coming up, which in return facilitate people's life."

Working at the assembly workshop in the rolling stock center of Chinese rail transit equipment manufacturer CRRC, Vijayakumar Sundar, 40, occasionally recalls when he was a child and used blocks to build trains.

However, as a child, he never thought of realizing his "train dream" in a Chinese enterprise.

"I participated in a three-month training in China, and accumulated skills and managing experience in my work," said Sundar, who was among the first batch of local employees and was later promoted to the position of a workshop director.

With a "go global" strategy, enterprises based in Zhuzhou successfully entered overseas markets and applied innovative measures, including localization, joint ventures and cultural recognition.

Taking CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. as an example, its three industrial bases in Malaysia, South Africa and Turkey employ nearly 500 people, among whom 80 percent are locals.

With win-win cooperation, China has not only achieved sustainable growth for itself, but also driven the world economy forward, creating jobs and cultivating talents for other countries.

Different from some countries, China is open to technological transfer to help other countries' development. Muhammad Shoaib from Pakistan, 27, is one of the nine foreign workers in Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. who has come to China to learn, along with others from his home country as well as Germany and Australia.

"Pakistan's first metro train railway was constructed by China. I still remember the jubilant crowd on the delivery day, with men and women, the elderly and children taking photos with the train," Shoaib said.

After years of studying and working in China, Shoaib has become a China hand. He said he has fallen in love with a girl in Pakistan, and plans to take her to Zhuzhou after marriage.