Alstom sees no roadblocks for technology transfer

Alstom will continue technology transfer to China and strengthen its presence in the country, which potentially boasts the world's largest market for infrastructure building, the head of the company said yesterday.

Patrick Kron, chairman and CEO of the French power and rail technology provider, made the remarks to more than 50 Chinese reporters in Beijing. The move, many analysts said, was aimed at repairing relations with China after a Financial Times article quoted a senior company executive saying that China was exporting trains using technologies derived from Western suppliers and was blocking bids from foreign manufacturers. The report ignited a furor among the Chinese people.

"We have no complaint about the way these technologies were transferred and there was no breach of contract whatsoever," Kron said.