China is set to accelerate the development of a modern integrated transportation network, making it significantly safer, more intelligent and greener during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030), the country's transport minister Liu Wei said on Monday in Beijing.
Liu detailed major measures to build the transportation system during the second group interview in the Ministers' Corridor after the second plenary meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) - the top legislature.
Liu noted that the draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan submitted for review at the ongoing political "two sessions" includes a dedicated section on improving the modern integrated transportation system.
Liu emphasized four priorities that will guide the sector's development over the next five years, which are integrated development, enhanced safety, intelligent digital upgrading, and green transformation.
"First, integrated development. We will prioritize deeper integration across regions, modes, and sectors. For instance, in passenger travel, we will launch a project to enhance the efficiency of intercity commuting within metropolitan areas, aiming to significantly increase the proportion of the population in major metropolitan areas able to commute within one hour. In logistics, a multimodal transport breakthrough campaign will address bottlenecks, substantially raising the one-hour transshipment rate for multimodal operations," Liu said.
"Second, enhanced safety. The key point is to address the shortcomings in safety resilience and improve the overall safety level of transportation. For instance, in recent years, the number of damaged roads due to floods in China has exceeded 120,000 kilometers every year. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, we will continue to implement the project for enhancing the safety resilience of roads and carry out actions to improve the safe operation of road bridges, achieving a complete elimination of dangerous bridges across the entire road network," he said.
"Third, digital and intelligent upgrading. We will deeply implement the 'AI+' initiative and vigorously develop smart transportation. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, we will comprehensively promote the large-scale application of typical scenarios such as "AI + highway inspection" and advance the construction of smart highways, smart ports, and intelligent shipping," Liu said.
"Fourth, green transformation. As you all know, transportation is a key sector for carbon emissions, accounting for roughly 10 percent of the country's total emissions. During the five-year period, the sector will be driven by carbon peaking and neutrality goals. Efforts will promote the construction of zero-carbon transport corridors and facilities, along with widespread adoption of new-energy vehicles, vessels, and other clean energy transportation equipment," the minister said.
China to upgrade transport network for safety, intelligence, sustainability: minister
