Germans Worry Chinese will Acquire Transrapid Know-How

Just weeks before China gets ready to celebrate the grand opening of the German-designed Transrapid railway in Shanghai, politicians are beginning to worry that the Chinese will eventually buy up the technology responsible for its success. Following the cancellation of a planned magnetic railway route in North-Rhine Westphalia, transport experts say there's not enough in-country demand to keep the technology from going to the Chinese eventually. The joint project between ThyssenKrupp and Siemens employed 600 people in Germany at its high point. Now, the head of the factory said the majority of his employees will have to work reduced hours because of a lack of demand. There's still hope. Plans to build a line connecting Munich and its airport have not yet collapsed. China's government said this week that the German companies can expect a few more contracts in the coming years, and a ThyssenKrupp spokeswoman said it was going to be hard to keep the core technological know-how in Germany.