BEIJING, July 8 (UPI) -- China independently developed the technology for high-speed trains for which it is applying for patents, the country's Ministry of Railways said.
The ministry's comment came in response to a Japanese accusation involving intellectual property rights for the technology, China Daily reported Friday.
China considers its high-speed rail system one of its showpiece industries. Its 818-mile long Beijing-Shanghai service opened this month with claims its "technology is advanced, its quality reliable and safety guaranteed."
Ministry spokesman Wang Yongping said Japan's accusation displayed a "lack of confidence," China Daily said.
The report said there have been threats of legal action in Japan if China's high-speed train patents violated contracts signed between Japan and China.
Wang was quoted as saying the China Academy of Railway Sciences and others have been filing patent applications abroad since 2009.
Japan's Asahi Shimbun earlier quoted Li Jun, an official in the Chinese railway ministry's transportation bureau, as saying:
"Applications will not be filed for technologies transferred from other countries as they are. Applications will be made for the portion China researched and developed on its own. There will not be any dispute with any country."
