Summary: China's high-speed rail track-finishing wheels, made of carbide tips, were among 35 chokepoint technologies that a Chinese state newspaper listed in 2018 as beyond the country's reach. An American study now judges that China has closed much of that gap, with nearly a third mastered. The piece traces how China caught up on some items but not others, following the US Commerce Department's April 2018 ban on ZTE buying American technology. It uses the cutting-wheel case to show how Chinese engineers knew the metals involved but not the exact alloy ratios needed.
Why it matters: The piece shows how a state-driven push can close technology gaps in a rival power, a useful comparison for Bharat's own self-reliance in critical technologies. It also gives a measured look at what separates the items China has mastered from those it still imports.
“In 2018, China Listed 35 Technologies The West Could Deny It. Eight Years On, It Has Mastered Nearly A Third.” — Swarajyamag, 26 Oct 2026
When a new track is laid on China's high-speed railways, a special train follows to finish the job. It carries a heavy milling machine that trims the top of each rail to an exact shape.
The finish matters because a rail with even small rough patches wears out quickly, and on a line built for very fast trains a worn rail can cause an accident. The trimming is done by round cutting wheels 400 or 600 mm across, studded with small tips of carbide, an extremely hard compound.
The tips wear down after about 2 km of rail and then have to be rotated or replaced…
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