Shou Xiaoli:

Thank you, Mr. Li, for your introduction. We will now move to the Q&A session. Please identify the media outlet you represent before asking your question.

Economic Daily:

The fourth meeting of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs (CCFEA) called for the optimization of major transportation routes and corridors to unclog bottlenecks. In accelerating the boosting of China's strength in transportation, what progress has been made in this regard? What are your considerations going forward? Thank you.

Li Xiaopeng:

Thank you for your interest in the construction of major transportation routes and corridors. At present, the total length of China's comprehensive three-dimensional transport network has exceeded 6 million kilometers, as I mentioned. As part of this, the main framework of "six axes, seven corridors and eight trunk lines " has basically taken shape. The "six axes, seven corridors and eight trunk lines" are the main framework of the comprehensive three-dimensional transport network stated in the guidelines on developing a comprehensive transport network. The "six axes" refer to the main corridors between the four economic development poles of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, which are also the main transportation corridors in China. The "seven corridors" mainly refer to seven transport routes such as the western land-sea transport corridor. The "eight trunk lines" refer to eight routes such as the border passage. The main framework of "six axes, seven corridors and eight trunk lines" covers more than 80% of China's counties and serves about 90% of China's economy and population.

From a sectoral perspective, by the end of last year, the country's in-service railway network reached a total length of 159,000 kilometers, with more than 45,000 kilometers of high-speed railways. The nation's highway system extended to 5.4368 million kilometers, including 183,600 kilometers of expressways. Inland navigable waterways stretched for 128,200 kilometers, with 15,400 kilometers classified as Class III and above. The number of quay berths for production use amounted to 22,023, of which 2,878 were berths of 10,000-ton-class or above. In terms of civil aviation, there were 259 transport airports, of which 38 had an annual passenger throughput of 10 million or more, and 63 had a cargo and mail throughput of 10,000 tons or more.

In general, we have made remarkable progress in infrastructure development, especially in the construction of integrated, multidimensional transportation networks, particularly the main framework and trunk roads.

Though having achieved significant progress, there are still areas that require improvement. For example, there are weaknesses in the development of normal-speed railways. The capacity of inter-regional expressways as transport channels needs to be improved. Deficiencies exist in the construction of inland waterways and the connectivity of water transport systems. Moreover, comprehensive hubs need to gain greater influences. 

In the next step, we will further accelerate the construction of the main framework consisting of six axes, seven corridors, and eight channels and build demonstration corridors. We will also further complement and strengthen the national comprehensive freight hub chain by advancing a series of major construction projects, including the railway freight network project, the national highway connectivity improvement project, and the inland waterway transport system connectivity project. In summary, we will expedite the elimination of bottlenecks to make new contributions to the smooth flow of the national economy. Thank you!