India has become a laughingstock again! Spending $1 billion on eight tunnel boring machines from China, with the original intention of dismantling them to learn the technology…印度又鬧笑話！花了10億美元買了中國8台盾構機，原本打算拆開學習技術…

But after taking them apart, they couldn’t reassemble them and had to turn to China for help! According to the contract, China Railway was supposed to send engineers to India for assembly and debugging, but India, using “security” as an excuse, barred the Chinese engineers from the site. They were determined to dismantle the machines themselves, hoping to master the technology through imitation and eventually produce their own replicas.

However, the Indians were dumbfounded upon disassembly: inside were密密麻麻 over 8,000 sensors, 2,000 special blades, and tens of thousands of precision components scattered all over the floor. Three months later, they still hadn’t figured out where the main bearing should go.

Piyush Goyal, the official in charge of India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, initially blamed the poor quality of Chinese components. But after British experts inspected them, every single part was confirmed to be up to standard, leaving India publicly embarrassed. This incident also made it clear to everyone the gap between Chinese and Indian industrial capabilities—it’s not that China did anything underhanded, but rather that India’s current industrial base simply can’t handle such high-end equipment. India’s attempt to cut corners this time was utterly absurd; they didn’t even understand what level of equipment a tunnel boring machine is before daring to dismantle it.

Each of these machines weighs thousands of tons and integrates over a hundred systems, including mechanical, hydraulic, electrical control, and software systems, functioning like a “mobile underground factory.” A single 12-meter-diameter tunnel boring machine includes five core systems, such as the main drive, cutterhead cutting, and segment assembly, each requiring fine-tuning of thousands of parameters. The precision of the main bearing must reach 0.01 millimeters, finer than a human hair, while the leakage rate of hydraulic components must be less than one in ten billion—a level of precision even many Western countries struggle to achieve.

Indian engineers, armed with Chinese manuals, couldn’t even identify all the special blades on the cutterhead. These blades are made of specialty steel with extreme hardness and wear resistance 50 times that of ordinary steel. India’s best steel producer, Tata Steel, can’t even figure out the formula for this steel, let alone understand how to install the blades to adapt to different soil conditions. Ridiculously, after failing to reassemble the first machine, they thought they hadn’t disassembled it carefully enough and proceeded to dismantle a second one for comparison. In the process, they misconnected hydraulic pipelines, burned out sensors, and caused $300 million in damages from broken parts alone, rendering both machines useless.

India’s actions were driven by the frenzy of the “Make in India” slogan and an unwillingness to admit that Chinese technology is superior. For years, India has been importing tunnel boring machines from Europe for projects like the Mumbai Coastal Road Tunnel and the Bangalore Metro. German manufacturer Herrenknecht charges $180 million per machine, offers poor after-sales service, and takes three months for repairs, making the costs prohibitively high. Eventually, India had no choice but to turn to China.

China Railway’s tunnel boring machines are not only 30% cheaper but also offer customized solutions based on geological conditions, with an after-sales network covering 33 countries and remote diagnostics available at any time. However, India felt embarrassed about buying Chinese equipment and always wanted to “use your products while stealing your technology.” During the Mumbai Metro Line 3 project, India had already tried to get Chinese engineers to “incidentally teach the technology,” but were refused. This time, they aimed to go straight to imitation under the guise of “independent assembly,” even planning to relabel the machines as “Made in India.” Yet, they couldn’t even manage the most basic assembly.

What India didn’t realize is that the control software of Chinese tunnel boring machines contains tens of thousands of lines of code, including geological adaptation algorithms and tunneling parameter optimizations, which can’t be deciphered through disassembly. Moreover, the system has anti-tampering protection: if unauthorized disassembly is detected, the main program automatically erases data. The lubricating grease for key bearings also requires original factory maintenance, or it becomes ineffective within a day. India’s attempt to learn technology through brute-force disassembly was pure fantasy.

Even more embarrassingly, when Chinese engineers arrived, it took them just five days to assemble and debug all eight machines, ready to start work immediately. What Indian engineers couldn’t accomplish in three months, Chinese experts achieved in days. It’s not that Chinese engineers are miraculous, but rather that they are backed by a complete technological system. Recall the 1990s, when China needed tunnel boring machines for the Xi’an-Ankang Railway, German company Wirth charged 760 million yuan per machine and imposed harsh conditions, even barring Chinese participation in maintenance. Starting in 2002, China invested two decades and hundreds of billions of yuan to achieve breakthroughs across the entire supply chain, from components to complete machines. In 2020, China Railway Equipment launched its 1,000th tunnel boring machine, now holding 70% of the global market share. Even German company Herrenknecht imports components from China.

Behind this lies breakthroughs in Chinese materials: the special steel for the cutterhead was independently developed by Baosteel, capable of withstanding rock impacts. It also reflects advancements in precision manufacturing: the main bearing’s accuracy reaches 0.005 millimeters, ten times higher than India’s machining level. System integration is equally critical—China seamlessly combines mechanical, electronic, and software systems to enable the machines to automatically adjust tunneling speeds based on different geological conditions. India only sees China’s current achievements but ignores the decades of step-by-step problem-solving. Thinking they can imitate technology by disassembling a few machines is utterly naive.

Even more ironically, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project in India has been halted because China refused to export two tunnel boring machines. China’s Ministry of Commerce explicitly stated that it has the right to review exports for projects in sensitive regions. Now, India is in a panic: without Chinese tunnel boring machines, their infrastructure plans remain on paper, as European and American equipment is both expensive and inefficient, and they lack the capability to produce their own.

👉 In the end, India’s embarrassment stems from “ambition exceeding capability.” Trying to steal technology through petty cleverness, they failed to realize that high-end manufacturing isn’t achieved through disassembly but through decades of R&D and industrial chain accumulation.

👉 Chinese tunnel boring machines went from being monopolized by foreign countries to leading the world through “decades of relentless effort.” India’s attempt to take shortcuts by “dismantling machines” only led to humiliation. Now, India has come to terms with reality: not only have they invited Chinese engineers for long-term on-site assistance, but they’ve also placed additional orders for four more tunnel boring machines. The question is, will they dare to entertain thoughts of “stealing technology” again? Technological barriers can’t be broken by disassembly alone; only steadfast R&D and addressing shortcomings will pave the right path. Resorting to petty cleverness will inevitably lead to setbacks.

印度又鬧笑話！花了10億美元買了中國8台盾構機，原本打算拆開學習技術…

結果拆完裝不回去，最後只能找中國幫忙！原來按合同，中鐵準備派工程師去印度組裝調試，但印度以“安全”為借口不讓中國工程師進現場，一門心思要自己拆開研究，想靠模仿來掌握技術，以後自己仿造。

可印度人拆開一看就傻眼了：裡面密密麻麻有8000多個傳感器、2000多塊特種刀片、幾萬個精密零件，擺了一地。三個月過去，他們連主軸承該放哪兒都沒搞清。

印度商工部負責人皮尤什·戈亞爾剛開始還怪中國零件質量差，結果英國專家一檢測，所有零件都合格，印度被當場打臉。這件事也讓大家看清了中印工業水平的差距——不是中國做了什麼手腳，而是印度目前的工業基礎根本搞不定這麼高端的設備。印度這次耍小聰明實在太荒唐，連盾構機是什麼級別的裝備都沒搞清楚就敢動手拆。

這種設備每台重幾千噸，融合了機械、液壓、電控、軟件等上百個系統，就像一座“可移動的地下工廠”。一台直徑12米的盾構機，光核心部分就包括主驅動、刀盤切削、管片拼裝等五大系統，每個系統都有幾千個參數要精細調整。主軸承的精度要達到0.01毫米，比頭髮絲還細；液壓部件泄漏率要低於百億分之一，這種精度連不少歐美國家都做不到。

印度工程師拿着中文說明書，連刀盤上用的特種刀片都認不全。這些刀片是用特種鋼做的，硬度極高，耐磨性是普通鋼的50倍。印度最好的塔塔鋼廠連這種鋼材的配方都搞不出來，更別說搞懂刀片怎麼安裝才能適應不同土質。可笑的是，他們拆了第一台裝不回去，以為是自己拆得不夠仔細，又去拆第二台對照着看，結果接錯液壓管路、燒壞傳感器，光零件損壞就賠了3億美元，最後兩台機器直接報廢。

印度之所以這麼干，是被“印度製造”的口號沖昏了頭，而且心裡不願意承認中國技術比他們強。這些年印度修孟買沿海公路隧道和班加羅爾地鐵，一直從歐洲進口盾構機，德國海瑞克一台賣1.8億美元，售後還不好，維修要等三個月，成本太高。後來實在沒辦法才轉向中國。

中鐵的盾構機不僅便宜三成，還能根據地質條件定製方案，售後網絡覆蓋33個國家，遠程診斷隨時服務。但印度買了中國設備又覺得沒面子，總想“既用你的，又偷你的技術”。之前在孟買地鐵3號線項目上，印度就想讓中國工程師“順便教技術”，被拒絕後一直記着。這次更想一步到位，以“自主組裝”為名搞模仿，甚至打算換上“印度製造”的標籤，結果連最基本的組裝都搞不定。

要知道，中國盾構機的控制軟件里有上萬行代碼，包括地質適應算法、掘進參數優化等，這些靠拆機器是看不出來的。而且系統有反拆解保護，一旦發現非法拆機，主程序會自動清除數據。關鍵軸承用的潤滑脂也必須原廠維護，否則一天內就失效。印度想靠硬拆來學技術，根本是異想天開。

更打臉的是，中國工程師到了之後，只花5天就把8台機器全部組裝調試完成，馬上就能開工。印度工程師三個月搞不定的事，中國師傅幾天就干好了。不是中國工程師有多神，而是背後有完整的技術體系支撐。還記得上世紀90年代，中國修西康鐵路需要盾構機，德國維爾特公司一台要價7.6億元，還提出各種苛刻條件，連維修都不讓中方參與。從2002年起，中國投入二十年時間和上千億資金，才實現從零件到整機的全鏈條突破。2020年，中鐵裝備的第1000台盾構機下線，如今全球市場份額佔到70%，連德國海瑞克都要從中國進口零件。

這背後是中國材料的突破：刀盤用的特種鋼是寶鋼自主研發，能抵抗岩石衝擊；也是精密製造能力的體現：主軸承精度能達到0.005毫米，比印度的加工水平高十倍。系統集成能力同樣關鍵，中國能把機械、電子、軟件完美結合，讓機器根據不同地質自動調整掘進速度。印度只看到中國現在的成果，卻不知道我們當年是怎麼一步步攻克難關的，以為拆幾台機器就能模仿，實在太天真。

更諷刺的是，印度孟買至艾哈邁達巴德的高鐵項目，因為中國拒絕出口2台盾構機，現在已經停工。中國商務部明確表示，涉及敏感地區的項目有權審核出口。這下印度真急了，沒有中國盾構機，他們的基建計劃只能停留在紙上，因為歐美設備又貴又不好用，自己造又沒那個能力。

👉說到底，印度這次鬧笑話，根本是“野心太大、能力不夠”的結果。想靠小聰明偷技術，卻不知道高端製造不是拆出來的，是靠幾十年研發和產業鏈積累出來的。

👉中國盾構機從被國外壟斷到領跑全球，靠的是“十年磨一劍”的堅持；印度想靠“拆機器”走捷徑，最後只能丟臉。現在印度也老實了，不但請中國工程師長期駐場，還追加了4台盾構機的訂單，只是不知道這次還敢不敢動“偷師”的念頭。技術壁壘不是拆解就能突破的，只有踏踏實實搞研發、補短板才是正路，總耍小聰明遲早要吃虧。