As China continues to expand its high-speed rail network, railway authorities are refining train schedules and innovating passenger services to significantly enhance both transport capacity and service quality.
With the opening of the Xi'an–Yan'an high-speed railway on Friday, China's high-speed rail mileage has topped 50,000 km, exceeding the total of all other countries combined.
The country now operates a fleet of 5,233 Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) trains, including 2,248.75 Fuxing high-speed EMU trains, a rise of about 34 percent and 117 percent, respectively, compared to the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020).
The Fuxing train can reach up to 350 km/h.
"High-speed rail now accounts for 80 percent of China's total railway passenger volume and 69 percent of passenger-kilometers, making it the backbone of medium- and long-distance travel. On average, 9,346 high-speed trains run daily, delivering 9.36 million passenger trips, equivalent to the population of a megacity moving across the country via high-speed rail every single day. This robust network has significantly alleviated pressure during peak travel periods such as the Spring Festival travel rush," said Zhang Zhike, a senior executive at China State Railway Group, the country's national railway operator.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025), EMU trains have operated a cumulative 12.8 billion passenger trips, a 39.2-percent increase compared to the 13th Five-Year Plan period.
China has built the world's largest railway ticketing system, 12306, which handles over 20 million ticket sales per day and has achieved near-universal e-ticket coverage.
A suite of passenger-friendly services has been introduced, including online meal ordering, high-speed rail pet transport, and age-friendly service options, profoundly transforming how people travel across the nation.
China's high-speed rail sees major leap in both capacity, service quality
The 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting concluded in east China's Suzhou on Saturday, yielding fruitful results and laying significant groundwork for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November.
The trade ministers' meeting focused on "building an open and predictable regional and multilateral economic and trade order" and "fostering new engines of innovative and dynamic trade and investment cooperation."
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao briefed the media on the meeting's outcomes at a press conference.
Wang said the meeting issued a joint statement titled the Suzhou Statement, and approved the latest edition of the APEC Roadmap for Innovative, Competitive and Resilient Services.
All parties agreed to advance policy innovation and reform in services trade, build an open and predictable investment environment, improve regional trade facilitation and supply chain resilience, strengthen standards coordination, and enhance intellectual property protection, Wang told the media.
He also said that substantial progress was made on a framework document for regional digital trade cooperation and the ministers emphasized promoting inclusive AI development, strengthening AI-related trade, and bridging the digital divide to ensure shared benefits from digital transformation.
The minister noted that the outcomes of the meeting demonstrated strong cooperation willingness, highlighted an innovation-oriented approach, and reflected inclusiveness and shared benefits. "The fact that Asia-Pacific economies can come together, uphold the original aspiration of promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation while supporting economic growth and prosperity, and engage in in-depth discussions on the important issue of 'where multilateral and regional economic and trade cooperation is headed,' fully demonstrates that open regionalism and true multilateralism enjoy broad support, and that mutual success and shared development serve the fundamental interests of all economies," Wang said.
2026 APEC trade ministers' meeting concludes with fruitful results
