The Qingdao government and Tsinghua University's Center for High-speed Railway Technology reached an agreement on Aug 24, regarding the co-construction of an institute for high-speed railway technology, qlwb.com.cn reported.

Gu Binglin, an academic from the university's railway technology center, led a delegation to Qingdao and discussed relevant matters arising from the implementation of the joint institute for high-speed railway technology.

The railway technology center, based on the university's solid research foundation, resources, and highly-skilled members of staff, is one of the world's leading institutes for high-speed railway technology research. It mainly works on strategic planning for the national high-speed rail network, as well as tackling the latest issues and problems.

The two sides will set up a working group to push forward the agreement on the joint institute for high-speed railway technology.

The city of Qingdao remains very competitive in the rail transportation equipment sector. It is home to CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co, China's leading high-speed train manufacturer, with one of their subsidiaries in the US recently securing an order valued at 8.65 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) to supply up to 846 railcars to the Chicago Transit Authority, the biggest train order in the city's history.

The company is headquartered in the town of Jihongtan, in the north of Qingdao's Chenyang district, and its business has made Jihongtan "the home of high-speed trains in China".