China and Germany agreed to strengthen cooperation in railway sector, the Ministry of Railways said in Beijing Tuesday.

Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun and visiting German Minister of Transport, Building and Housing Manfred Stolpe signed an agreement on strengthening cooperation here Monday.

According to the agreement, the two sides will enhance exchanges in technology of railways and personnel training.

The two sides also agreed to exchange high level officials regularly to refresh management ideas of each other.

China and Germany have had cooperation in railway sector for years. China's first maglev train, built in cooperation with Germany, started test operation at the end of 2002 from the Pudong airport to the city proper of Shanghai.

China has been conducting a massive railways construction program nationwide with the aim to extend the length of total operational tracks from 75,000 kilometers in 2005 to 100,000 kilometers by 2020. Currently, the country can only meet one-third of national demand in freight transport.

Source: Xinhua