Chancellor George Osborne announced the commencement of the bidding process for phase one of the government's High Speed 2 rail project at an event in Chengdu, China. 

A minimum of seven new contracts will be up for tender to companies, coming to a combined total value of £11.8 billion. 

This came as part of the chancellor's five-day tour of China, which was intended to deepen the level of cooperation between the two countries. 

Construction work on phase one is due to start in 2017 - and the new lines are expected to cut travel time between London and Birmingham from one hour and 21 minutes to just 49 minutes. 

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: "HS2 provides an excellent opportunity for businesses across the UK with 25,000 jobs created during construction and 3,000 when up and running."

He welcomed the start of the procurement process as an excellent opportunity for UK businesses to get involved.