logistics - French Alstom courted for Beijing-Shanghai line

The French company Alstom is now a frontrunner in the efforts to build the US$ 12 billion railway track between Beijing and Shanghai. The project, based on traditional railway technology, is supposed to cut back the travel time between the two cities from twelve to five hours.
Consortia of German and Japanese companies have been trying to sell their high-speed solution to China, but all in vain. The German consortium even build a test line in Shanghai of 30 km as a showcase, but otherwise logistically useless project.
Now it is the turn of the French to kiss the emperor's feet and part of the high-profile visit of president Hu Jintao was meant to smoothen the ties between the two countries for this 1,300 kilometer project.
In a similar case a German consortium of Adtranz and Siemens participated in the first two subway lines in Shanghai, supported by an undisclosed subsidy by the German government. When Germany did not want to participate in a third line, the privilege of subsidize Shanghai's infrastructure went to France.