They build the roads, bridges, dams, ports and railways that China needs to sustain its rapid economic growth.
Overall staff costs are more than 40% of gross traffic compared with about 15% in China, where the railways have shed non-core businesses.
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But while Friedland sat down in Beijing with Mongolian Prime Minister Nambaryn Enkhbayar and China's Minister of Railways Fu Zhihuan to discuss such a spur, nobody is breaking ground just yet.
After receiving the report, China's cabinet criticised the railways ministry for lax safety standards and poor handling of the crash, according to Reuters.
Only Chile has a modern transport network comparable to China's, and even there railways are neglected.
China has charged once-powerful former Railways Minister Liu Zhijun with corruption and abuse of power, state media has reported.
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In Alpha, the prospect of selling coal to China is stimulating investment in mines, railways and probably even policing.
Ambitious plans are being aired to build new railways not just to nearby China, but into Russia or eastern Mongolia as well, whence there would be access to the markets of South Korea and Japan.
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China's roads are much better, and railways must compete with booming airlines, too.
If you are China, and you are about to buy the railways, motorways, ports and airports, why buy them in euros only to face instant asset price devaluation?
China has adopted an aid-for-oil strategy that has resulted in increasing flows of oil from African countries in return for China building lavish infrastructure projects such as hospitals, railways and sports stadiums and cutting trade and debt-forgiveness deals.
This is the latest in a series of moves by China to gain control over a network of ports, railways and distribution channels which it will use to carry its goods to European markets.
China's state-owned enterprises have won contracts to build railways, houses and power stations in the country.
The difference now is the nature of China's investment boom, which has concentrated on roads, railways and houses, not factories.
The financial difficulties of the Railways Ministry have begun to affect state enterprises, such as China CNR Corporation, a train maker.
Whether or not China is able to avoid the "Malacca trap" by building pipeline and railways across Central Asia to the Middle East, it will still need Dubai as its hub for its growing reach into the Middle East and Africa.
An even bigger concern is how the debt-ridden railways ministry will secure more funding with bonds from the finance ministry, China Daily notes.
There is a widespread belief that China has found a secret recipe for growth which basically involves building lots of stuff - infrastructure, railways, airports, roads and the like.
Steel production has grown steadily in recent years in China, and rose 3.1% in 2012, as the Chinese government invested heavily in roads, railways and other infrastructure to support economic growth.
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