Photo taken on Aug. 13, 2015 shows visitors taking photos on the exhibition of China high-speed trains in Jakarta, Indonesia. Senior officials of Chinese and Indonesian consortiums signed an agreement in Jakarta on Oct. 16, 2015 to launch a joint venture for a high-speed railway linking Jakarta with West Java provincial capital of Bandung. [Photo: Xinhua]

China has denied rumors claiming that a high-speed railway project linking Jakarta and Bandung in Indonesia undertaken by China has been halted since its permissions were not approved.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks at a press briefing in Beijing.

"The rumors saying the Jakarta-Bandung high speed railway project has been forced to suspend are not true, and it's been clarified by China Railway Corporation. The commencement ceremony for the project's construction has already been held. Both Chinese and Indonesian governments attach great importance to it, and are closely cooperating together. Both sides will promote the smooth implementation of the project's construction work, and hope it'll benefit Indonesian people, and also strengthen the bilateral pragmatic cooperation and deepen mutual benefit and win-win result."

The Indonesian Embassy in Beijing also dismissed the rumor, saying the high-speed railway project remains a priority for the Indonesian government.

Bai Ming, from Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under China's Ministry of Commerce, suggested that plans should be in place in responding to unexpected obstacles.

"We went through a variety of hardships before successfully signing the contract of the Jakarta-Bandung high speed railway project. This means the implementation of the project may not be all smooth sailing as well. We may have to overcome more difficulties. In this way, it's necessary for the enterprises to prepare plans coping with issues such as how to communicate and cooperate with our governmental departments, and how our authorities will pass on their demands and concerns to their foreign counterparts."

The 150-kilometer-long Jakarta-Bandung high speed railway is expected to be completed in 3 years.

It will cut the journey between the two cities to less than 40 minutes from over 3 hours.