The transport ministry on Monday denied that France has beaten Japan and Germany in a bid to provide technology for a planned high-speed rail link between Beijing and Shanghai.
In response to an inquiry by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry, the Chinese Railway Ministry said the newspaper report was not true, vice transport minister Noriyuki Kazaoka said.
A recent article in the Beijing-backed Hong Kong daily Ta Kung Pao said China had decided to introduce the French TGV technology for the planned 1,300-km railway.
Japan, France and Germany have offered to provide their technologies for the Beijing-Shanghai line, which the Chinese government hopes to complete before the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
"It is expected that an international bid will decide the winner," Kazaoka said.