California Governor Jerry Brown's visit to China this week has given him a closer look at the world's largest high-speed rail system, a system he hopes to bring to the Golden State. So far, the reviews are all positive.

The governor has staked a large part of his reputation on the proposed $68 billion plan for a bullet train system that was passed back in 2008. Brown has been one of the project's most vocal supporters ever since.

"We sit around and mope. And process. And navel gaze," Brown stated. "And the rest of the world is moving at Mach speed. So when we go back, we'll emulate some of that."

Not everyone is so optimistic about the idea, however. Republican vice chairman of the state's Assembly Budget Committee Jim Nielsen once stated that is was "an idea that gets worse the more information we get about it." Last year Califonia Legislative Analyst's Office echoed that sentiment, stating that funding for the project was largely speculative.

To his credit, Brown seems undeterred by these doubters and is sticking to a rail system he has been in support of since the 1970's. This most recent trip to China only seems to have affirmed Brown's belief in the project, as he has strengthened relations with Chinese investors and collaborators who helped build China's own 800-mile rail system.

"We are very interested in California," said rail car designer and engineer Jiang Lay of Tangshan Vehicle Co., who built the model Brown was riding. "We are very confident that our Chinese technology can be successful in America."

An influx of Chinese money and know-how would certainly improve prospects for the controversial rail plan. So far only $10 billion has been secured from the Califonia public to contribute to the construction costs, a far cry from the $68 billion needed. 

When the high-speed rail system was first proposed, it was believed to only require $45 billion and would be able to connect Los Angles and San Franciscon by 2020. More recently, however, California's High-Speed Rail Authority (which oversees the project) has said that it is now projected to cost almost $100 billion and would not be completed until 2033.

"There will probably have to be more up-front investment from the state before they get to the point where it's really ripe for Chinese or any other outside investment," said Sean Randolph, president of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute.