SCIO Briefing on achievements in transport during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020)
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E-mail China.org.cn, October 28, 2020
Hu Kaihong:
Thank you, Mr. Ma. Now please welcome Mr. Liu Zhenfang, head of the National Railway Administration.
Liu Zhenfang:
Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the press, good afternoon. Just now Minister Li introduced the overall development of transport during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. Now I'd like to add several points about the railway sector.
During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, following the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the railway sector has taken a people-centered approach, adhered to the new development philosophy, advanced railway supply-side structural reform, and strived to promote the high-quality development of the sector. We have achieved the relevant goals set in the 13th Five-Year Plan, and played a leading role in building China into a strong country of transportation, serving the national strategy and promoting socio-economic development.
First, railway network construction has been accelerated. The main framework of the "four vertical and four horizontal" high-speed railways has been completed. The construction of the main channels of the "eight vertical and eight horizontal" high-speed railways, as well as normal-speed railways, have been sped up. Rapid advances have been made in building intercity railways in key regions. A large number of new lines, such as the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Smart High-speed Railway and the Haolebaoji-Ji'an Railway, a heavy-load line for transporting coal from the north to the south, were put into operation. The layout of the national rail network was continuously optimized and the network quality was remarkably increased. The rail network in the central and western regions was constantly improved, with hubs and supporting facilities greatly enhanced. By the end of 2019, the length of in-service railways nationwide had reached 139,000 kilometers, including 35,000 kilometers of high-speed rail lines. A well-balanced, wide-ranging, well-organized, safe and efficient rail network will basically take shape by the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period.
Second, the quality of transportation has improved significantly. The railway industry has focused on meeting the people's growing demand for railway transport, vigorously implementing structural reform of the railway supply side, and continuously improving transport supply capacity, service quality and safety. From 2015 to 2019, the number of passengers and the volume of cargo transported by rail grew at an average annual rate of 9.6% and 6.9% respectively. The greatly improved transport capacity made it more convenient for passengers to travel and strongly ensured the transport of key materials such as energy and resources. With passenger tickets and cargo bills going digital, railway transport services were improved significantly. The ability to provide emergency support has been significantly enhanced, and transport safety has remained stable, and now our high-speed railways lead the world in terms of safety.
Third, the level of equipment has been comprehensively upgraded. A high-speed rail construction and equipment manufacturing technology system with independent intellectual property rights has been formed. The Fuxing, China's standard high-speed trainset, has achieved a commercial speed of 350 kilometers per hour, and a series of models has basically taken shape. For the first time in the world, intelligent trainsets have achieved automatic driving at a speed of 350 km/h. The levels of high-power locomotives, heavy-haul vehicles, communication signals, traction power supply, equipment for maintenance, repairing and testing as well as construction machinery and apparatus were greatly elevated. Constant innovations were made to the application of new intelligent technologies.
Fourth, railway reform is gradually deepening. The industry regulatory system is gradually improving, and the transformation of government functions and the streamlining of administration and decentralization of power have achieved obvious result. The reform of the railway investment and financing system has been deepening, and the proportion of investment in railways by local governments and social capital has increased significantly. State-owned railway enterprises have established modern enterprise systems. Companies like Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway Co., Ltd. have been listed. The law-based and market-oriented reform of railway transportation has been further advanced, further improving the business environment.
Fifth, international cooperation has been fruitful. In serving the construction of the Belt and Road, China has achieved positive results in the internationalization of railway standards and made new breakthroughs in railway connectivity. The landmark projects of the China-Lao Railway and the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway have made steady progress. Projects including the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway and the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway were completed and came into service. Railway technology and equipment have been exported to more than 100 countries and regions. The rapid development of China-Europe class trains, with a total of more than 30,000 trains by the end of September 2020, has become an important achievement and highlight of the "Belt and Road" construction. Especially this year, faced with unexpected COVID-19 pandemic, the China-Europe freight train has played an important role in promoting the resumption of work and production as well as stabilizing the international supply and industrial chain. That's all. Thank you.
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