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""The building of these new railways forms part of Xi Jinping's grand plan of 'integrating the vast national market,'" says Dr. Olivia Cheung, research fellow at the China Institute of the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). "It is also meant to be reflective of his 'new development philosophy,' of which 'coordinated development' is a key concept. 

"His scheme is grand in that it extends beyond just simply connecting existing towns, but existing towns with new mega-towns that are being constructed from scratch. A famous example in which Xi takes a lot of pride is the Xiong'an New Area in Hebei province, around 60 miles southwest of Beijing." 

In that sense, it could be argued that China is repeating railway history; many early railways in North America, Europe and the colonies of the European empires were built with similar goals.

The development of railway networks in Russia -- most notably the Trans-Siberian Railway -- Prussia, France, Italy and the British Empire, among others, were strongly influenced by political and military demands as well as economic development.

However, what took decades in the 19th and early 20th centuries is being achieved in just a few years by China." 

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