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Transport and logistics
EconomyChina Economy

China sets 95% transport goal for 2030, focusing on efficiency and shielding supply chains

Beijing aims to expand nation’s world-leading network coverage, raising questions over need for more infrastructure projects as authorities flag ‘weak links’

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(260630) -- BEIJING, June 30, 2026 (Xinhua) -- A drone photo taken on June 30, 2026 shows high-speed trains stabled at a storage yard in Lianyungang, east China’s Jiangsu Province. Starting from 00:00 on July 1, China’s railway diagram will be adjusted by adding 106 passenger train services and 111 freight train service to the current schedule. After the adjustment, a total of 12,174 passenger trains will be scheduled nationwide, while 23,975 freight trains will be operated. (Photo by Wang Chun/Xinhua)
Frank Chenin Shanghai

China aims to make its transport systems even more expansive and efficient in the next five years, setting a goal to complete 95 per cent of its core national transport network by 2030.

After blanketing the country in railways, expressways, airports and seagoing canals to reach a 91 per cent completion rate, the push for the next 4 percentage points raises questions for the world’s second-largest economy: what’s left to build, and how are massive projects being justified when the nation’s most economically vibrant regions are already connected?

Beijing’s resolve to sustain such a connectivity buildout of transport arteries comes even as China already boasts the world’s longest high-speed rail and canal networks, and one of the longest road networks.

More broadly, the country’s infrastructure push extends beyond transport. Following a meeting on Thursday, the Communist Party’s Politburo, a major decision-making body led by President Xi Jinping, underscored the need to advance construction of the “six networks” – a broad infrastructure initiative covering water, power, computing, next-generation telecommunications, underground utilities and logistics networks.

The following is a breakdown of the planning, rationale and key projects for the period through 2030.

What exactly is the 2030 completion target?

China’s Ministry of Transport announced the 95 per cent completion goal at a press briefing last week hosted by the State Council Information Office.

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