China to speed up upgrading of transport system

China will build a multidimensional transportation network that is convenient, cost-effective, green, intelligent and safe by 2035, said a comprehensive transport blueprint recently unveiled by the country.

The high-quality network will connect major cities and counties across the country, as well as foreign destinations, according to the blueprint.

A national 1-2-3 travel circle and a global 1-2-3 logistics circle will take shape by 2035. With the national travel circle, inter-city commute can be completed in one hour, and it will only take around two hours to get from one city cluster to another. Besides, travelers can reach major domestic cities within three hours. The global 1-2-3 logistics circle will enable one-day delivery to domestic destinations, two-day delivery to neighboring countries, and three-day delivery to major global cities.

China's Minister of Transport Li Xiaopeng introduced that the overall mileage of the transport network will reach 700,000 kilometers by 2035, including 200,000 kilometers of railways, 460,000 kilometers of roads and 25,000 kilometers of waterways. A total of 27 coastal ports, 36 inland river ports, around 400 civil aviation airports and 80 logistics hubs will be established. Besides, 100 cities will be built into transport hubs to improve a logistics network that faces the world.

All types of transport are expected to be developed in an integrated manner, Li said. The country will also promote the development of transport infrastructure and service network, the synergetic development of regional transport, and the integrated development of transport with tourism, modern manufacturing, courier and modern logistics sectors.

Besides, China will ensure higher quality of its transport by making the sector safer, smarter and greener, the minister noted.

Wang Zhiqing, Vice-Minister of Transport introduced that China will have a 160,000-kilometer expressway network and 300,000 kilometers of national highways.

According to him, the country's expressways will link all county-level regions and areas with more than 100,000 people and serve around 90 percent of county-level regions, upon completion.

The national highways will connect all county-level regions and above and border road ports, Wang noted, adding that all county seats, except those in some remote areas, will be connected to national highways within a 15-minute drive, to expressways within a 30-minute drive, and to railways within a 60-minute drive.

China will build a railway network consisting 70,000 kilometers of high-speed railways and 130,000 kilometers of tracks for trains running at normal speed. Liu Zhenfang, director of the National Railway Administration of China, said China will build a high-speed railway network with "eight vertical and eight horizontal" corridors as the main body, as well as a regular railway network with multiple vertical and horizontal corridors as the major frame.

Besides, the country will also accelerate the building of a national comprehensive aviation system centering on clusters of world-level airports and international aviation hubs, in which regional hubs serve as the backbone and non-hub and regular airports are an important complement.

Ma Junsheng, director of the State Post Bureau of China, noted that developed multidimensional transport would lead to better development of the postal and courier industry. According him, the bureau will build around 80 postal hubs at three levels. General postal services will become more equitable and express delivery more intelligent, he said. Besides, customized services will also be improved, the director noted.