China accelerated the construction of its logistics infrastructure network and expanded international logistics channels in the first three quarters of 2026, further strengthening logistics supply support capacity, said an official from the logistics sector on Sunday.
Logistics-related fixed-asset investment maintained steady growth in the first nine months, led by increases of 13.8 percent and 13.5 percent in air and water transport investment, respectively, according to data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) on Sunday.
The Pinglu Canal officially opened to navigation in September. A major project of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor linking China's inland regions to ASEAN and global markets, the canal is a backbone project of the corridor.
Since opening, it has handled more than one million metric tons of cargo, turning Nanning Port at its origin from a traditional inland river port into a river-sea intermodal transport hub.
Construction on a host of logistics hubs and major waterway projects has also accelerated, and the Implementation Plan for Logistics Network Construction has entered the stage of full implementation.
International cross-border logistics has expanded in both scale and quality. In the first three quarters, 16,000 China-Europe freight trains were operated, up 15 percent year on year, while China-Central Asia freight train trips rose 2 percent to 11,000, the data showed.
International air cargo and mail volume grew 12.1 percent year on year, and 130 new international air cargo routes were launched, with the network of international all-cargo routes continuing to expand.
"With continuous policy and financial support, investments in the 'six major infrastructure networks' and integrated multidimensional transportation have exceeded seven trillion yuan (about 1.05 trillion U.S. dollars) so far this year. Furthermore, 250 billion yuan of special-purpose bond quota carryovers was revitalized, providing solid financial backing for logistics network construction. Relying on these investments, a number of major projects have opened up key trunk corridors, multimodal transport has resolved connectivity bottlenecks, and multiple measures have jointly promoted the improvement of the logistics network's connectivity efficiency," said He Hui, vice president of CFLP.
The "six networks" include water networks, new-type power grids, computing power networks, next-generation communication networks, urban underground pipeline networks and logistics networks.
China accelerates logistics infrastructure, expands international corridors in first 9 months
