Germany has taken a tough line in negotiations over a proposed US$4.3 billion magnetic levitation train link between Shanghai and Hangzhou, refusing to provide funding and access to technology. Officials in Berlin told the Financial Times that the German transport minister had rejected the money and intellectual property transfer requests at a meeting last week with the head of China's National Maglev Transportation Technology Research Center. It comes after Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel berated Beijing for its lack of progress on IPR protection during a visit to China last month. Transrapid International, the Siemens-ThyssenKrupp joint venture behind the Shanghai airport maglev link, has been in negotiations to build the second track, which was given the go-ahead in March. Germany paid for 10% of the US$1 billion airport line but is unwilling to do the same for Shanghai-Hangzhou link.