American media: Chinese state-owned enterprises frequently encounter commercial risks abroad

"Time" November 28 article, the original title: with China chasing overseas business, the state-owned enterprises hit by the Chinese engineers designed and built a new modern railway system, this year during the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca 2.5 million pilgrims found it easier to travel between the Holy Land.　　The 1.8 billion-dollar railroad, which connects many places around Mecca, began operation early November this year, carrying 72,000 pilgrims per hour. The Mecca light rail project could ease the traffic bottleneck in the Saudi city, but it has sparked uproar in Beijing. China Railway, the general contractor for the light rail project, said its losses on the project could be as high as $600 million trillion.　　Just as the new rail system will showcase China's fast-growing high-tech capabilities, the project, which sets the record for the economic losses of Chinese companies ' overseas projects, also suggests that China prefers to be pampered at the expense of the international. As a showcase of Chinese technology, the Mecca Light rail project has undoubtedly achieved great success. The high-speed rail system delivered hundreds of thousands of passengers last week without any breakdowns. After signing a contract with the Saudi government, it took only 16 months for the Chinese railways to complete the project.　　But the same 16-month period suggests that China's state-owned companies, chosen by Beijing to fulfill their political commitments to their new partners, are facing huge risks. Since the signing ceremony in 2009, the project has been more politically motivated than commercially sensitive and has been the focus of Beijing and Saudi allies.　　Experts believe that if Chinese companies stop on such a sensitive project, their losses will not be limited to the economic sector. It is not the only state-owned enterprise that has fallen away from national borders and unprofitable projects.　　In other business cases, Chinese companies did not lose money, but did not. While Beijing is keen to gain influence and alliances in sensitive parts of the world, it also understands that Chinese companies have huge potential business opportunities in emerging markets such as the Middle East.　　Chinese companies are becoming increasingly competitive in Middle East projects and getting contracts at low prices. But some question whether it would be wise to splurge 600 million of dollars in a distant country just to gain the influence of the future, "even if China strengthens its economic ties with the Middle East, it does not mean that China's political position in the region or geopolitical factors will change". ▲ (Yvon translation)