China expands transport network to facilitate high-quality development

BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- China has made notable achievements in improving its transport infrastructure network and transport services for the past year, the Ministry of Transport said on Wednesday.

Fixed-asset investment in the country's transport system totaled 3.9 trillion yuan (about 548.7 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, Li Xiaopeng, minister of transport, told a press conference.

A total of 2,776 kilometers of high-speed railways were opened, and 7,000 kilometers of expressways were built or expanded last year, Li said.

The country added or improved 1,000 kilometers of shipping lanes, and the number of airports for transportation stood at 259. Postal services were available to all administrative villages.

Meanwhile, China's transport services continued to improve last year with optimized transport structure, according to Li.

The country's commercial freight volume went up 8.1 percent year on year to 54.75 billion tonnes last year, an increase of 16.9 percent from 2019.

Passenger transport posted strong growth. The country's inter-regional passenger traffic rose 30.9 percent year on year to 61.25 billion trips in 2023, up 0.8 percent from 2019.

Li said that China had been promoting the high-quality development of its transport sector, deepening the country's green and low-carbon transformation.

China has also been strengthening its cooperation with foreign countries. Steady progress has been made in the high-quality development of the Belt and Road transport connectivity, he said.

Last year, the express delivery volume of China topped in the world for the 10th year in a row, Zhao Chongjiu, head of the State Post Bureau, said in the press conference.

Express courier firms nationwide handled 132 billion parcels in 2023, up 19.4 percent compared to the previous year. The sector raked in total revenue of 1.2 trillion yuan during the period, up 14.3 percent year on year, said Zhao.