China's transport network advances markedly, key targets met ahead of schedule

China's transport network has made marked progress during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), with several key targets completed ahead of schedule, said Chinese Minister of Transport Liu Wei on Monday.

At a press conference in Beijing, Liu highlighted the major achievements in the development of China's transportation systems over the past five years.

"Out of the 17 key targets set in the 14th Five-Year Plan, six were completed ahead of schedule in 2024. They are the length of completed expressways, operational mileage of urban rail transit networks, railway access rates to major coastal ports, express delivery service coverage in administrative villages, Beidou system application rates in critical sectors, and the proportion of new energy buses in cities. The remaining 11 targets, such as high-speed railway operating mileage and rail transit access rates at hub airports, will all be finished by year-end," said Liu.

"Overall, China's transportation sector has made historic achievements over the past five years, with breakthrough progress in establishing a comprehensive transport network. The main framework of the national comprehensive and multidimensional transportation network composed of 'six axes, seven corridors, and eight routes' has now exceeded 90 percent completion. Meanwhile, the comprehensive transport capacity, service quality, and operational efficiency have improved significantly, accelerating the realization of a vision characterized by easy travel of people and smooth flow of goods," said Liu.

The U.S. dollar strengthened in late trading on Tuesday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, added 0.28 percent to 99.134 at 15:00 (2000 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1649 U.S. dollars from 1.1672 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound declined to 1.3435 dollars from 1.3466 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 159.11 Japanese yen, higher than 158.14 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar rose to 0.8006 Swiss francs from 0.797 Swiss francs, and it climbed to 1.3887 Canadian dollars from 1.3871 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar advanced to 9.2132 Swedish kronor from 9.1693 Swedish kronor.