Mexico abruptly revoked a $4.4 billion high-speed railway deal with a Chinese-led consortium late on Thursday, just three days ahead of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's visit to China.

Mexican Ministry of Communications and Transportation said that the process of the bid was "legal," however, the Mexican president has decided to start a new bid as "doubts and concerns have emerged among the public," according to a statement on its website.

The Chinese-led consortium, including the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and CSR Corporation Limited, as well as several Mexican local construction companies, won the bid on Monday to build a 210-kilometer high-speed railway which links Mexico City and the industrial hub of Queretaro.

A total of 17 companies were involved in the bidding, including industry giants like Japan's Mitsubishi, France's Alstom, Canada's Bombardier and Germany's Siemens. But the consortium was the only bidder which managed to offer a proposal by the October 15 deadline and had passed all technological and legal examinations.

Media reports said that Mexican opposition politicians accused the government of favoring the group led by Chinese companies.

More time will be offered in the new bid and more companies will be involved, the Mexican transportation ministry said in the statement.

The Mexican Embassy to China told the Global Times Thursday that currently they have no information to announce on the matter.

CRCC's part in the deal was worth around 17.85 billion yuan ($2.92 billion), according to a CRCC filing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Following the news, CRCC shares tumbled 4.94 percent on the Shanghai bourse and dived 5.76 percent on the Hong Kong bourse on Friday.

Calls to CRCC and CSR Corporation went unanswered on Friday. But Shanghai-based newspaper China Business News reported that the two companies are still confirming the news.

"We cannot rule out the possibility that the consortium's competitors have pressured the Mexican government. The abrupt revoke has put the bid's authority into question," said Bai Ming, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce.

Zhao Jian, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, noted that the withdrawal of the deal is not necessarily a bad thing for Chinese companies, as the bid price was too low. "This is a commercial project, not foreign aid," he said, adding that Chinese companies should bid at a much more favorable price.

Bai also noted that CRCC and CSR Corporation should be confident when preparing for the new bid, as they are "competitive in both technology and price."

Nieto is scheduled to fly to China on November 10, when he will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and pay a state visit to China until November 13.

"It is likely that leaders of the two countries will talk about the matter during APEC," Bai said.