Green, smart transportation sector seen as key objective

Multilayered, integrated hubs part of overall plan within 2021-25

China is looking to gain a competitive edge in the transportation sector during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25) amid a larger drive to foster green, smart and high-quality development over the long run, officials said on Wednesday.

Luo Guosan, director of the Department of Infrastructure Development of the National Development and Reform Commission, highlighted the imbalances and inadequacies in the development of comprehensive transportation, saying it is urgent to promote high-quality transportation development.

Luo said at a news conference in Beijing that the country will make efforts to improve major transportation networks, build multilayered and integrated comprehensive transportation hubs, construct a smart transportation system that is globally competitive and promote the intelligent, digital and networked transformation and upgrade of the country's infrastructure.

Luo's remarks came shortly after the State Council, China's Cabinet, unveiled a new plan on the development of a modern comprehensive transportation system on Tuesday.

By 2025, the comprehensive transportation system will witness integrated development, substantial strides in green and smart development, an improved facility network and more effective transportation services.

More than 95 percent of cities with a population of over 500,000 will be covered by the high-speed railway network, with trains having maximum speeds of 250 kilometers per hour and faster.

By 2035, a convenient, cost-effective, green, smart, advanced and reliable modern national comprehensive transportation network will be basically completed.

Xu Chengguang, chief planner and director of the comprehensive planning department of the Ministry of Transport, said it is estimated that investment in transportation increased 3.1 percent year-on-year to 3.58 trillion yuan ($564 billion) in China last year, which provides strong support for boosting economic growth and meets people's basic needs.

Under the new plan, Xu said the ministry will make a big push to promote balanced development, improve transportation hub systems, optimize the transportation structure and improve the efficiency of the comprehensive transportation network.

Looking ahead to the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Han Jun, director of the development and planning department at the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said the administration will set a goal of better serving China's major regional strategies and regional coordinated development strategies.

"We will accelerate the construction of four world-class airport clusters in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Yangtze River Delta region, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle," Han said.

Han added that the key focus is to continue to ensure aviation safety and promote smart civil aviation development.

Citing the newly released plan, Zeng Junshan, spokesman of the State Post Bureau, said postal and express services will play a key role in services and production, spurring consumption and fostering smooth circulation.

Zeng said the bureau will work hard to build an efficient and convenient domestic logistics service system as well as a shared and reliable international logistics service system.

"It is estimated that annual revenue recorded by the postal express sector will exceed 1.8 trillion yuan by 2025," Zeng added.

Going forward, more efforts will also be made to improve the quality and efficiency of express delivery services and promote the deep integration between postal express with e-commerce, modern agriculture and advanced manufacturing. By 2025, the country is set to see a number of postal express brands with an annual business volume of over 20 billion pieces or an annual revenue of over 200 billion yuan, Zeng said.