TIANJIN • Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak took a ride on China's high-speed rail - whose operator is bidding to build the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore line - as part of his official visit to the country.
Datuk Seri Najib travelled some 117km from Beijing to the north-eastern port city of Tianjin aboard the "Harmony", or Hexie, express yesterday, Malaysian state news agency Bernama reported.
The premier tweeted three pictures of the experience.
"Inside the high-speed train Harmony to Tianjin. We took about 30 minutes to cover a distance of some 117km between Beijing and Tianjin," he tweeted in Malay.
Officials from China Railway Engineering Corp (CREC) gave Mr Najib a briefing on the high-speed rail system during the journey, Bernama said. CREC is among several rail companies, including East Japan Railway Company and Korea Railroad Corporation, eyeing the RM50 billion (S$16.6 billion), 350km Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail project.
Upon arrival at the Tianjin Railway Station, Mr Najib was received by Tianjin Vice-mayor Zhao Haishan, reported Bernama. He then met Tianjin party secretary Li Hongzhong at the Tianjin State Guest House.
The three leaders later witnessed the signing of an agreement on a desalination plant project in Tianjin between Malaysian-owned XianDa Group and the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area.
XianDa Group reportedly plans to invest 15 billion yuan (S$3 billion) on the desalination plant here. The plant will produce one million tonnes of clarified water and 600,000 tonnes of desalinated water per day.
