The picture shows the high-speed rail project in California, USA (data map)

On the 26th local time, the US Department of Transportation said that the Trump administration cancelled another $175 million appropriation for the California high-speed rail project.

On July 16 local time, US President Trump tweeted on his social media platform that the federal government would no longer provide any funding for the California high-speed rail project, calling it a "catastrophic and seriously overspent'high-speed rail to nothingness'". On the same day, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that he would cancel about $4 billion in federal funding for California high-speed rail. (CCTV reporter, Xu Xiao)

Further reading

US diplomat: U.S. can provide China with rich experience in rail transport

In recent days, the Trump administration and the California government have been at loggerheads over the 17-year-old California high-speed rail project that cost nearly 7 billion dollars. Trump has terminated federal funding, and California Governor Newsom has played the "China card" and announced that he has sued.

Just as the two sides were "at war," on July 18, Chinese and American industry representatives gathered at the "China-US Railway Transportation Industry Roundtable" at the China International Supply Chain Expo to discuss Sino-US railway cooperation. According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, Everett Wakai, Minister Counselor for Commerce at the U.S. Embassy in China, said at the meeting that the Chinese and American railway industries have their own strengths and look forward to cooperation.

Wang said that the United States has long held a leading position in freight rail and urban transport, while China has become a global powerhouse in high-speed rail, he believes that the two countries have the potential to deepen cooperation in rail transport.

Wang Yong 'an also boasted that as a long-time leader in freight rail and urban transportation, the United States can still provide rich experience to China.

Wuhan mobility segment, spring 2025 preliminary opening, 100 groups of vehicles are arranged

Guan Jiaxin, vice-president of China Railway Construction's joint stock company, said the company worked extensively with US companies on equipment and "we look forward to exploring more opportunities in markets where US companies have a strong presence, such as Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Europe".

The South China Morning Post said that some industry representatives mentioned that for many years, U.S. railway equipment manufacturers have provided equipment for China's railway projects, covering domestic and overseas projects, including urban rail transit systems (such as subways) and conventional railway projects.

Cui Yao, president of West House Braking (China), said that over the past two decades, the company¡¯s revenue has grown from almost zero to an average of $500 million a year, of which $300 million comes from sales in the Chinese market, $200 million from products made in China and exported to overseas markets.

At the time of the event, another U.S. company representative said: ¡°Our business is not affected by Trump tariffs because products supplied to China for projects in third countries are not restricted by U.S.-China tariffs.¡±The representative also said that their supply to Chinese local projects has not been interrupted, thanks to the company¡¯s high level of localization, including the establishment of several joint ventures with Chinese companies.

The U.S. representative then reminded that Chinese railway equipment manufacturers could possibly find some opportunities in the U.S. subway market, but had little access to space in the railway sector, as the field would be strictly dominated by local U.S. companies.

California's slow-moving high-speed rail project

However, just as U.S. diplomats boasted and U.S. companies refused to enter the U.S., the only U.S. high-speed rail project fell into trouble.

The California High-Speed Railway Project, as a ¡°biggest¡± issue in the U.S. infrastructure sector, dates back to the early 2008 year. After several delays and cost cuts, the project now only has about 275 km of roadside. But the route alone costs up to $35 billion, more than the initial budget for the entire project, and there is a $7 billion funding gap.

Mr. Trump has long been critical of California's high-speed rail project. In February, the US Department of Transportation launched a compliance review of funding for the California high-speed rail project. Reports in June showed the project had "missed deadlines, inadequate budgets and questionable traffic counting".

On July 16, local time, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced the decision to withdraw $4 billion in project funds. On the same day, Trump wrote on social platforms that he rescued American citizens from funding California's "catastrophic and severely overspended 'high-speed rail to nothingness'". "Thanks to Tamiflu, there won't be another penny of federal money spent on this Newsom scam," he said.

High-speed railway project illustration (note: a few major cities linked in the red box for the original planned, and a small section left in the green circle after the current Governor Newton's cutting project)

Later on the same day, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statement in response saying that the Trump administration's decision was "illegal" and vowed to fight back. He also moved out of China, claiming that Trump's move "was to hand over the future to China" and that California "would not let him succeed".

Despite the fact that the California government has repeatedly played "Chinese cards", Newton and Trump's debate around California's high-speed rail project has been linked to the U.S. bipartisan struggle, Reuters, pointing out that Trump's termination of federal funding marks the latest confrontation between a Republican president and a Democratic governor widely regarded as a popular candidate for the 2028 presidential nomination.

On the 17th, the California High Speed Railways filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, challenging Trump's decision, calling it "arbitrary and arbitrary" abuse of power.The government agency also said that the U.S. government's investment in high-speed railways was insignificant, more visible than other national investment, especially pointing to China.

According to the California High-speed Railway Administration, China has "invested as much as $1.4 trillion to build a high-speed rail network of nearly 28,000 miles". According to the data of China State Railway Group, at present, the operating mileage of China's high-speed rail reaches 48,000 kilometers, accounting for more than 70% of the total mileage of the world's high-speed rail, covering 97% of cities with a population of more than 500,000.