China has made remarkable advancements in high-speed rail construction during its 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), driven by continuous technological innovation that has established the country as an international benchmark in this field.
Over the past five years, China has seen numerous technological achievements, notably represented by the bullet trains "Fuxing Hao" -- state-of-the-art locomotives capable of 350 kilometers per hour.
China also established a comprehensive high-speed rail technology system, encompassing engineering construction, equipment manufacturing, and operational management during the period.
"The prototype of China's high-speed train model CR450 was unveiled at the end of 2024, boasting internationally leading performance in key indicators such as operating speed, energy consumption, interior noise, and braking distance. During trials, two CR450 trains passing each other achieved a staggering combined relative speed of 896 km/h, the highest ever recorded for high-speed rail, which further solidified China's advantage in this field," said Li Yongheng, director of the equipment technology division of the sci-tech information department of China State Railway Group Co., Ltd (China Railway).
Known as the world's fastest high-speed train, the CR450 has reached 450 kilometers per hour in tests and 400 kilometers per hour in operation, according to China Railway.
Prototypes of the latest model in the Fuxing bullet train series were unveiled in Beijing on Dec 29, 2024.
The railway authorities in China have been accelerating the standardization of Chinese railway technology.
The China Railway Group has developed 1,219 enterprise technology standards, forming a systematic, advanced, and applicable technical standard system for Chinese railways.
"China has led over 300 international standard-setting and revision projects with organizations such as International Union of Railways (UIC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). All 13 international system-level standards in the high-speed rail sector established by UIC have been presided over by Chinese railway authorities, which enhanced China's international influence and voice," said Huo Baoshi, director of the technical standards and supervision division of the sci-tech information department of China Railway.
Over the past five years, China also contributed Chinese wisdom and solutions to the sustainable, healthy development of high-speed rail globally.
"During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, a flagship cooperation project between Indonesia and China under the Belt and Road Initiative, was opened to traffic. The travel time between Jakarta and Bandung was shortened from more than three hours to 46 minutes, and more than 12 million trips have been handled on the route. The project fostered a 'same-city effect' and accelerated the formation of the Jakarta-Bandung economic corridor," said Li Cong, director of the overseas projects division of the International Department of China Railway.
The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, locally known as Whoosh, was officially put into commercial operation on Oct. 17, 2023, and is the first high-speed railway in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.
The Serbia section of the landmark regional Hungary-Serbia high-speed railway project was opened on Oct. 3 this year, facilitating the integration of Chinese railway technology with European railway interoperability standards.
The Serbian section was built by China Railway International and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), with a designed speed of 200 km/h.
The Chinese railway ticketing system has been adapted to meet the needs of overseas projects, successfully applied to the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail, the China-Laos Railway -- another flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative -- and the Hungary-Serbia high-speed railway, thereby enhancing ticket-purchasing experience for local populations.
China's high-speed rail technology sets global benchmark in past five years
Foreign diplomats and scholars are looking closely at this year's "two sessions", saying China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) will not only chart the nation's economic and technological priorities but also reshape global value chains.
The fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the nation's top political advisory body, opened on Wednesday, followed by the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Thursday. Together known as the "two sessions," these meetings offer a comprehensive view into China's development priorities.
Global observers emphasized that the 15th Five-Year Plan, a blueprint guiding the nation's economic, social, and technological priorities over the next five years, marks a decisive shift toward high‑quality growth anchored in advanced technologies, with ripple effects across the world.
"The two sessions will discuss China's five-year plan, which is heavily oriented toward China's major technological development. I believe this is important because it represents the new blueprint for China's economy, which is now oriented toward the renowned high-quality development, and this will undoubtedly impact the entire world. I think it is worth studying. This is very important for Latin America. It will help us integrate more intelligently into global value chains and into all aspects of the major development that China is promoting in iconic industrial sectors, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and space development, where Latin America also has much to contribute beyond just commercial growth," said Gustavo Sabino Vaca Narvaja, former Argentine Ambassador to China.
"The two sessions are a major political milestone in China, and this year's gathering carries even greater significance as this year marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan. This plan represents not only a blueprint for China, but also a guide for other countries. Instruments like the five-year plan effectively provide greater certainty and predictability for the rest of the world," said Chilean scholar of international relations Ignacio Araya Heredia.
"This is a particularly important date, especially due to the fact that the next Five-Year Plan shall be positioned and we're going to see what its main elements shall be. Serbia, which has a very high degree of steel friendship with the People's Republic of China, can expect further assistance in identifying the most prominent areas of Serbian economy and being helped by its great partner, such as it has been done in the previous period, from one part with establishing the main infrastructure projects, but also reshaping the industrial sector of Serbia, not just Serbia, but the region as a whole," said Veljko Mijuskovic, assistant professor of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Belgrade.
Beyond the policy framework, experts also pointed to China's achievements in green energy and technological innovation as models worth emulating.
Tomasz Bielinski, adjunct professor at the University of Gdansk's Faculty of Economics, said the robotics displays at the 2026 China Media Group (CMG) Spring Festival Gala reflected China's broader push in technological innovation.
"I was really impressed about the robotics. I'm very impressed with Chinese development in the technological field, we can still make great deals with Chinese businessmen and we can cooperate together to use this technology for both the good of China and the European Union. I'm aware of the innovation especially in autonomous drive on the on the Chinese side," he said.
"We hope for more of China's economic cooperation, especially in trade and also in investment. Also, and the other focus, if I talk about the focus of the development, don't forget about the green energy. We know that China is great in the electric vehicle field. So because China's electric vehicles in Indonesia nowadays, since couple of years ago, are very, very popular," said Al Busyra Basnur, president of the Indonesia-China Friendship Association.
Observers see China's new five-year plan driving high-quality development, global tech shifts
