SCIO press conference on moving faster to boost China's strength in transportation
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 10, 2023
Xing Huina:
Thank you, Mr. Li. Now the floor is open for questions. Please identify the media organization you work for before asking your questions.
Tide News:
After the 19th CPC National Congress put forward the building of a nation strong in transportation, the 20th CPC National Congress stipulated the efforts to move faster to boost China's strength in transportation. What progress has been made in this regard over the past five years? What are the plans and arrangements going forward? Thank you.
Li Xiaopeng:
Thank you for your questions. Moving faster to boost China's strength in transportation is a major strategic decision made by the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core in light of the national conditions, the overall interests and the future development. As you said, the 19th CPC National Congress put forward the building of a nation strong in transportation, and the 20th CPC National Congress noted the efforts to move faster to boost China's strength in transportation. General Secretary Xi Jinping has attached great importance to the issue. As I mentioned earlier, he stressed that, "since the founding of the People's Republic of China, generations of Chinese people have worked in the spirit of building roads through mountains and putting bridges over rivers, and turned China into a country with vast transportation infrastructure. Today, we are redoubling our efforts to build a country with great transportation strength." He also noted that "transportation development has become a pioneer in China's modernization drive." The CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Outline for Building China's Strength in Transportation and the Outline for National Comprehensive Transportation Network , which further improved the top-level design accordingly. The MOT has earnestly implemented the decisions made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, continuously advancing the work in all respects, and got off to a good start in the matter.
First, the infrastructure network continues to be improved. During the five years since the 19th CPC National Congress, which is from 2018 to 2022, fixed-asset investment in the country's transportation sector exceeded 17 trillion yuan, and China built the world's largest high-speed railway and expressway networks as well as a world-class port cluster. By the end of 2022, the total length of the country's comprehensive transportation network exceeded 6 million km. In breakdown, the operating mileage of the railway network reached 155,000 km, of which high-speed railways accounted for 42,000 km. The country had a total of 5.35 million km of highways by the end of 2022, of which expressways represented 177,000 km. China now has 21,000 quay berths for production use , including 2,751 for berths of 10,000-tonne-class or above. The length of navigable inland waterways reached 128,000 km, including 15,000 km of waterways of level three and above which can be used for ships of 1,000 metric tons or more. The number of certified civil airports across the country reached 254. Urban rail transit now runs across 53 cities in China, with operating length totaling 9,584 km. In terms of rural roads, all villages, townships and towns with the necessary conditions have access to paved roads and bus routes. Regarding the postal service, there are now postal service stations in every village, and every township has access to such services. A group of major projects has also been built and put into operation, such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Beijing Daxing International Airport, Phase IV of the Shanghai Yangshan Deep Water Port and Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway line, to name a few. Construction of other major projects such as the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, Shenzhen-Zhongshan link and Pinglu Canal is also being expedited. This is the first aspect of the achievements, which is the continuously improving infrastructure network.
Second, transportation services have been continuously improved. We have promoted the quality of travel services, ensured smooth logistics flow, and pushed the rapid development of new business forms. As a result, China's key transportation indicators – including passenger and freight volume and business volume of postal and express services – rank first worldwide. In 2022, the country's commercial passenger volume hit 5.59 billion, its commercial freight volume stood at 50.6 billion tonnes, its port throughput amounted to 15.68 billion tonnes, and its container throughput exceeded 300 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). Data related to people's livelihood showed that expressway travel volume of passenger vehicles with less than nine seats surpassed 17.1 billion, and average daily ride-hailing and bike-sharing orders exceeded 20 million and 33 million, respectively. In addition, express delivery volume surpassed 110 billion, and express delivery companies handled an average of more than 300 million parcels daily.
Third, high-quality development has been promoted. The planning system in the transport sector has been advanced, as China issued a comprehensive transportation plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period, as well as the medium- and long-term plan for the highway network. In addition, scientific and technological innovation has significantly increased. We have further advanced green and low-carbon transformation, improved talent training and management, continuously deepened reform, and optimized laws, regulations, and the business environment.
Fourth, international cooperation has been boosted. Many international cooperation projects, such as the China-Laos Railway and the China-Russia highway bridge, have been completed and put into operation. China-Europe freight trains have now reached more than 200 cities across 25 countries in Europe. More than 300 international passenger and freight transit lines have been opened, and shipping services now serve all coastal countries along the Belt and Road. Domestic airlines operate regular international flights to 153 cities in 62 countries, and postal and express services connect more than 220 countries and regions worldwide.
To put it simply, during the past five years, China's comprehensive strength in the transportation sector has been significantly enhanced, with some advanced fields ranking first globally, which guarantees the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and the building of a modern socialist country.
Next, the MOT will formulate and implement a five-year action plan to accelerate the building of China's strength in transportation. We will mainly focus on the following 10 aspects. First, we will speed up modern transport infrastructure projects' construction and optimize their layout, structure, function and system integration. Second, we will advance service quality to achieve easier movement of people and a smooth flow of goods. Third, we will boost the integration of urban and rural transport to better serve rural revitalization and coordinated regional development. Fourth, we will highlight an innovation-driven approach and promote digitalization, intellectualization and V2X (vehicle-to-everything). Fifth, we will deepen green and low-carbon transformation, adjust its structure and develop clean transport. Sixth, we will stress safety in production, strengthen industry supervision, and guarantee security in key fields. Seventh, we will expand transport opening-up and cooperation, and facilitate its connectivity, to push forward global transport cooperation and the high-quality development of the BRI. Eighth, we will improve talent training and management. Ninth, we will enhance management capability, optimize laws and regulations, and strengthen comprehensive regulation to build a unified and open transport market and improve its business environment. Tenth, we will strengthen the Party's leadership and building in the transportation sector.
We will follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and earnestly implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on the transportation sector. We will forge ahead in building China's strength in transportation at a faster pace, let the transportation sector be a pioneer in China's modernization drive, and make new and greater contributions to the building of a modern socialist country. Thank you.
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