The accident followed a fatal high-speed railway crash last July that called into question the pace and quality of China's high-speed-rail buildout, which officials had touted as a signature program and a sign of the nation's rising technological might.

WSJ: Chinese High-Speed Rail Section Collapses

China's own high-speed railway network has been lauded as a symbol of this country's far-sighted infrastructure investment policy.

BBC: China to the UK's aid?

China is even going to the US to become involved in high-speed railway projects, where it can offer the engineering expertise and financing to Americans.

FORBES: China In The Driver's Seat

China has already been expressing an interest in Britain's plans to build high-speed railway links.

BBC: China to the UK's aid?

Despite having to slow its originally rapid expansion plans, China recently increased its budget for railway investment this year by 16% and expects to lay 13, 000 km of high-speed rail by January 2013 -- more than the combined rail network installed across all Western countries over the past half-century.

BBC: Corporate rail travel on the rise