To scotch domestic rumors saying China copied Germany's magnetic levitation technology, a German government spokesman said recently on TV that by now there is no evidence whatsoever pointing to that accusation, International Finance News reports.

Reports on China's maglev technology sprang up on various German newspapers after Die Welt said on Feb. 15 that China independently developed maglev train will be put into trial operation in July. While stunned by China's high-tech speed, voices also rose saying the technology was copied from Germany.

What is sure is that China didn't copy from highly protected German patents, said Peter Mnich, head of the Institute of Railway Technology, Ltd.. "We must admit, this is China's own technology", he said, after Chinese experts have spent twenty years on technological problems in this regard. He added that the two countries can continue cooperation on maglev project researches.

Besides, the German Ministry of Transport revealed on Wednesday that the high-speed maglev line in China's Shanghai linking the city proper and Pudong International Airport will extend 160 kilometers southwestern to reach Hangzhou city.

The extended line will also use maglev whose construction will be undertaken by Transrapid International, a joint company of Siemens and ThyssenKrupp.

By People's Daily Online