Hu Xijie, former Vice Minister of Communications and former General Manager of China International Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd.
Zhao Xufeng of China International Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd.
Transportation is a basic, leading and strategic industry and an important support and strong guarantee for economic and social development. Over the past 40 years, China has adhered to the basic national policy of reform and opening up, and has made unprecedented achievements in terms of transportation infrastructure scale, transportation service quality, technology and equipment, as well as the transformation of development concepts, institutional innovation and market-oriented development, creating the "China Speed" and "China Model" that attract worldwide attention in the world transportation history.
First, 40 years of rapid development of transportation.
From the "bottleneck" restriction in the early days of reform and opening up to the current adaptation to economic and social development, transportation productivity has been greatly liberated and developed.
(1) Infrastructure ranks among the top in the world.
In the 40 years of reform and opening up, China’s transportation infrastructure construction has made great achievements, and various modes of transportation have achieved rapid development. The mileage of high-speed railways, expressways, urban rail operations and the number of 10,000-ton berths in ports rank first in the world, and the number of airports and pipeline mileage rank first in the world, which has become an important support for socialist modernization.
1. Modern high-speed railway network
At the beginning of reform and opening up, the mileage of China’s railway network was only 51,700 kilometers. At the end of 2003, the scale of China’s railway network reached 73,000 kilometers, an increase of about 20,000 kilometers in 25 years. The Medium and Long-term Railway Network Planning was implemented in 2004, and China’s railways entered a stage of rapid development. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway with the highest altitude in the world was completed in 2006, and China’s first high-speed railway — — The Beijing-Tianjin intercity railway opened in 2008, which opened the prelude to the era of high-speed rail in China. The Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, which was completed and opened to traffic in 2011, has the highest commercial operation speed and the longest mileage in the world.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China’s railways, especially high-speed railways, have developed rapidly. The operating mileage of high-speed railways has increased from 0.97 thousand kilometers in 2012 to 25 thousand kilometers in 2017, an increase of 1.58 times. In 2017, Fuxing, which has completely independent intellectual property rights, ran on the vast land of the motherland. China’s high-speed railway has achieved a leap-forward development from scratch to the first in the world in a short time, and has become a bright business card that shines in the world. By the end of 2017, the national railway operating mileage was 127,000 kilometers, including 25,000 kilometers of high-speed rail, accounting for two-thirds of the world’s high-speed rail. The main channels of "four vertical and four horizontal" high-speed rail were all connected ahead of schedule, and the high-speed rail covered more than 65% of cities with a population of one million. At present, China has the most modern railway network and the most developed high-speed rail network in the world.
2. Highway network extending in all directions
In the 40 years of reform and opening up, China’s highway construction has made rapid progress. In 1978, the total mileage of highways in China was 890,000 kilometers, and the highway density was 9.27 kilometers/100 square kilometers. In 1988, the first expressway — — The Hujia Expressway was completed and opened to traffic. By the end of 2012, the national expressway mileage had reached 96,200 kilometers.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China’s highway construction has made brilliant achievements. The total mileage of highways has increased by 530,000 kilometers, and the number of expressways has increased by 40,000 kilometers. The expressways cover 97% of cities with a population of 200,000 and administrative centers at the prefecture level. The highways above the second level reach 96.7% of counties, 99.99% of townships (towns) and 99.98% of villages. By the end of 2017, the total mileage of national highways was 4,773,500 kilometers, and expressways ranked first in the world with a mileage of 136,500 kilometers. The national highway network density reached 49.72 kilometers/100 square kilometers. In the past 30 years, China’s expressway development has attracted worldwide attention, creating a miracle in the world expressway history.
3. Super Bridge and Tunnel Project
With the extension of traffic mileage, the record of "longest, highest and largest" has been written into the history of bridge and tunnel construction in the world, and "China Bridge and China Tunnel" has become a new brand to show the image of China.
At present, there are 5 and 6 longest-span suspension bridges and cable-stayed bridges in the world, respectively. In recent years, China has successively built a number of world-class long-span bridges such as Donghai Bridge, Jiangyin Yangtze River Bridge, Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge, Runyang Yangtze River Bridge, Sutong Bridge and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is the longest sea-crossing bridge in the world. Beipanjiang Bridge is the tallest bridge in the world. Dasheng Guangong Railway Bridge is the world’s first six-line railway bridge, and the double-span multi-arch railway has the largest span in the world. The Wufengshan Yangtze River Railway Bridge under construction has a main span of 1,120 meters, ranking first among suspension bridges in the world. The Hutong Yangtze River Bridge under construction will become the world’s first cable-stayed bridge with a span of more than 1000 meters.
In terms of tunnel construction, in recent years, China has successively built a number of the best in the world: the longest double-hole expressway tunnel in the world — — Zhongnanshan Tunnel in Qinling Mountains, the largest diameter shield tunnel in the world — — Shanghai Yangtze River Tunnel, the highest highway tunnel in the world — — Queershan Tunnel on Sichuan-Tibet Line, the longest plateau railway tunnel in the world — — Xinguanjiao Tunnel of Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the highest high-speed railway tunnel in the world — — Qilian Mountain Tunnel, the largest road tunnel in the world — — Gongbei Tunnel of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the longest submarine immersed tunnel in the world — — Immersed tunnel of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.
4. Advanced large-scale ports
In 1978, there were 735 production berths in China’s major ports, including 133 deep-water berths of 10,000-ton and above, and there were no berths of 10,000-ton and above in inland rivers. After 1985, large-scale and specialized ports entered a stage of rapid development; By 2012, there were 31,862 berths for production terminals in ports across the country, including 1,886 berths of 10,000-ton class and above (369 for inland rivers).
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the intelligent level of China’s ports has obviously accelerated, with 480 berths above 10,000 tons increasing, with an average annual increase of 96 berths, and 133 berths above 100,000 tons increasing. By the end of 2017, the national ports had 27,578 berths for production, including 2,366 berths of 10,000-ton class and above (418 inland rivers). The fully automated container terminal in Yangshan Port Area of Shanghai Port, which was put into operation in 2017, is the largest and most automated container terminal in the world. At present, seven of the top ten ports in the world are located in China. In 2017, Shanghai Port ranked first in the world with a throughput of 40.3 million TEUs, Shenzhen Port, Ningbo Zhoushan Port and Hong Kong Port ranked third, fourth and fifth, and Guangzhou Port and Qingdao Port ranked seventh and eighth. China’s modern large-scale ports play an important role in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.
5. Smooth golden waterway
Since the reform and opening up, China’s inland waterways, such as the Yangtze River trunk line, the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, the Xijiang River and the Xiangjiang River, have been systematically and comprehensively managed. Since 1982, China has been renovating the waterway of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal. From Jining, Shandong Province to Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 500-ton ships can be navigable, and some sections of northern Jiangsu Province can be navigable with 1,000-ton fleets. At the end of 1990s, the Yangtze estuary deepwater channel regulation project started construction, which is by far the largest and most complicated estuary regulation project in the world. It was successfully completed in 2010. The 12.5-meter deepwater channel from the Yangtze estuary to Taicang was fully connected, and the cargo throughput of Shanghai Port and Jiangsu ports along the Yangtze River increased rapidly. The cargo volume passing through the Yangtze estuary increased from 220 million tons in 2000 to 1.02 billion tons in 2012. At the end of 2012, the navigable mileage of inland waterways nationwide was 125,000 kilometers, including 9,894 kilometers of third-class and above waterways.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, relying on the golden waterway of the Yangtze River to promote the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has become a major national strategy. The construction project of the 12.5-meter deep-water waterway below Nanjing of the Yangtze River was started, which was completed and put into operation in April this year. It can realize the full navigation of 50,000-ton and above ships from Nanjing to the estuary of the Yangtze River, and push the seaport further inland, which is equivalent to an increase of nearly 800 kilometers of coastline, and realize the river-sea combined transport of the golden waterway in China on a large scale. At the same time, China has accelerated the waterway regulation project of Jingjiang reach in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the waterway from Chongqing to Yibin in the upper reaches. The Yangtze River has become the world’s largest and busiest navigable river. The waterway regulation project from Xijiang Jietou to Zhaoqing has been completed, so that 2000-ton ships can directly reach Guigang, Guangxi, and the capacity expansion and upgrading project from Xijiang Jietou to Zhaoqing will continue to be implemented, so as to achieve the goal of navigation for 3000-ton ships. The renovation project of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal (Zhejiang section) has also been started, which will realize the direct connection of 1,000-ton ships from Shandong to Hangzhou.
6. Wide coverage of civil aviation
With the great historical process of China’s reform and opening up, China’s civil aviation has developed from a militarized industry to a modern air transport system that plays an important role in national economic and social development. In the early days of reform and opening up, China’s civil aviation was subordinate to the Air Force, with 78 civil airports. After the reform of management system in 1980, the civil aviation industry made great progress. By the end of 2012, there were 183 civil aviation airports and 178 cities with scheduled flights.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the number of civil aviation certification airports in China has increased by 46, with an increase of 25%. As a new power source for national development, the Capital New Airport has been successfully capped. By the end of 2017, there were 229 certified airports for civil aviation in China, including 228 airports for regular flights and 224 cities for regular flights, with a fleet of 3,261 aircraft and a mileage of nearly 7 million kilometers. Civil aviation services covered 88.5% of prefecture-level cities and 76.5% of counties in China. There are 784 international routes and 61 countries (167 international cities) with regular flights. In 2017, the passenger throughput of Capital International Airport was 95.79 million, ranking second in the world, Hong Kong International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport ranked eighth and ninth respectively, and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport ranked thirteenth. As an integral part of China’s comprehensive transportation system, air transportation has developed from a subordinate supplementary position to a popular means of transportation.
7. Developed urban rail transit
The construction of urban rail transit in China began from 1950s to 1970s, and until the end of 1980s, there were only 40km subways in Beijing and Tianjin. From the last century to the late 1980s and early 1990s, marked by the construction of Shanghai Metro Line 1, Beijing Metro Line 8 and Guangzhou Metro Line 1, China really started the construction of urban rail transit for traffic purposes. At the beginning of the 21st century, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have a total mileage of 105 kilometers. By the end of 2012, 70 rail transit lines have been opened in 17 cities in China, with an operating mileage of 2,064 kilometers, including 1,726 kilometers of subway lines.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the operating mileage of urban rail transit in China has increased by nearly 3,000 kilometers, 2.4 times that of the end of 2012. By the end of 2017, 165 urban rail transit lines had been opened in 34 cities in China, with an operating mileage of 5,033 kilometers, including 3,884 kilometers of subway lines. Shanghai rail transit has a mileage of 732 kilometers, ranking first in the world; Beijing rail transit has a mileage of 685 kilometers, ranking second in the world; Guangzhou and Nanjing ranked fifth and sixth respectively. At present, the operating mileage and mileage under construction of urban rail transit in China rank first in the world.
8. Vertical and horizontal interwoven oil and gas pipeline network
In 1958, the first long-distance crude oil pipeline was built in New China. In 1978, the mileage of oil and gas pipelines in China reached 8,300 kilometers. With the reform and opening up, China’s major oil and gas fields have entered the peak of exploration and development, which has greatly promoted the construction of long-distance oil and gas pipelines and other storage and transportation facilities. At the end of 2012, the mileage of oil and gas pipelines in China reached 90,000 kilometers.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the construction of oil and gas pipelines in China has been accelerated in an all-round way. By the end of 2017, 23,800 kilometers of crude oil pipelines and 26,000 kilometers of refined oil pipelines have been built nationwide. The total mileage of long-distance natural gas pipelines is nearly 74,000 kilometers (excluding provincial pipeline networks), reaching a total of 123,800 kilometers. The backbone oil and gas pipeline network basically constitutes the pattern of "transporting oil from the west to the east, transporting oil from the north to the south, transporting gas from the north to the east, transporting gas from the north to the south, transporting gas from Myanmar to the north, and landing by sea and gas", which has played an important role in ensuring China’s energy security and promoting China’s economic and social development.
(B) the rapid growth of passenger and freight transport.
In the 40 years of reform and opening up, both passenger traffic and freight volume have made great progress, which is not only an objective fact that the rapid economic and social development has driven huge transportation demand, but also an achievement that the rapid development of transportation infrastructure has greatly improved transportation capacity. At the same time, it is also a remarkable effect of the continuous reform and opening up of transportation to release productivity, and transportation has played a very important role in ensuring economic and social development.
1. The quality of passenger transport has improved significantly.
In 1978, the total passenger traffic in China was only 2.54 billion person-times, and the passenger turnover was 174.3 billion person-kilometers. With the economic and social development and the liberalization of the passenger transport market, the passenger traffic increased rapidly. By 2012, the passenger traffic in China reached 38 billion person-times and the passenger turnover reached 3,338.3 billion person-kilometers, which increased by 15 times and 19 times respectively compared with the initial stage of reform and opening up.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the quality of Chinese tourists’ travel has been significantly improved, and the people’s sense of happiness and gain has been continuously enhanced. By the end of 2017, the passenger traffic of the whole society was 18.486 billion person-times, and the passenger turnover was 3,281.2 billion person-kilometers. With the rapid development of high-speed railway, the passenger volume of railway increased from 1.89 billion in 2012 to 3.08 billion in 2017, an increase of 63%, and the passenger turnover increased from 981.2 billion person-kilometers to 1,345.7 billion person-kilometers, an increase of 37%. The proportion of high-speed train emus reached 56.4%, and China’s railway passenger turnover ranked first in the world. With the continuous improvement of people’s living standards, the passenger volume of civil aviation increased from 320 million in 2012 to 550 million in 2017, an increase of 71.9%, and the passenger turnover increased from 502.5 billion person-kilometers to 951.2 billion person-kilometers, an increase of 89.3%. The proportion of civil aviation passenger traffic and passenger turnover increased to 3% and 29% respectively, and China’s civil aviation passenger turnover ranked second in the world.
2. The freight efficiency is constantly improving.
In the early days of reform and opening up, the total annual freight volume of the whole society was less than 3.2 billion tons, and the freight turnover was less than 1 trillion tons kilometers. With the economic and social development and the liberalization of the freight market, freight transportation has developed rapidly. By 2012, the freight volume of the whole society reached 41 billion tons, and the freight turnover reached 17,380.4 billion tons-kilometers. The freight volume and freight turnover increased by 12.8 times and 17.4 times respectively compared with the initial stage of reform and opening up.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the freight volume of the whole society has increased by 15.2%, the freight turnover has increased by 10%, and the proportion of logistics cost in GDP has decreased from 18% in 2012 to 14.6% in 2017, a decrease of 3.4 percentage points. Transportation has further promoted the logistics industry to reduce costs and increase efficiency, which has played an important role in ensuring the quality and efficiency of the whole supply system. By the end of 2017, the freight volume of the whole society was 47.2 billion tons, the freight turnover was 19,258.8 billion tons kilometers, the road freight turnover accounted for 34.7%, the inland river and coastal freight turnover accounted for 7.76% and 14.8% respectively, the ocean freight turnover accounted for 28.6%, and the railway freight turnover accounted for 14%. China’s railway freight volume, road freight volume and turnover, port cargo throughput and container throughput all ranked first in the world. In recent years, with the rise of e-commerce, China’s express delivery industry has developed rapidly. In 2017, 40.056 billion pieces of express delivery were completed, ranking first in the world.
3. Urban traffic is more convenient
In the past 40 years of reform and opening up, with the rapid development of urbanization in China, China’s urban traffic has also achieved unprecedented development. At the end of 1980s, there were 61,400 buses and 114,000 taxis in China. In the past 40 years of reform and opening up, China’s urban public transport has developed rapidly, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, new formats such as online car ride and bike-sharing have developed rapidly. By the end of 2017, there were 651,200 public buses and trams in China, of which 27.9% were natural gas vehicles, 13.2% were hybrid vehicles and 26.3% were pure electric vehicles. It has 1,395,800 taxis and completed 127.215 billion passenger trips in the city. In 2017, 34 cities across the country opened rail transit, with a total passenger volume of 18.48 billion passengers and a total passenger turnover of 151.5 billion person-kilometers.
Two, 40 years of transportation reform and opening up practice
The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in December 1978 sounded the clarion call of reform and opening up and started the historical journey of reform and opening up. 40 years of unity, 40 years of hard work, 40 years of spring breeze and rain, China’s unswerving adherence to the basic policy of reform and opening up has promoted earth-shaking changes in China. The practice of 40 years of reform and opening-up has proved that "reform and opening-up is a key choice to determine the fate of contemporary China and an important magic weapon for the cause of the party and the people to catch up with the times in great strides".
Persist in emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts. General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out: "The process of reform and opening up is the process of ideological emancipation." "The people of China persist in emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts, realizing the mutual agitation between emancipating the mind and reform and opening up, and promoting the mutual innovation of ideas and practical exploration, which fully demonstrates the powerful power of ideological guidance." In 1978, Comrade Deng Xiaoping delivered a speech entitled "Emancipating the Mind, Seeking Truth from Facts, Looking Forward with Unity", which clearly supported the "discussion on the standard of truth". In 1992, Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out in his talk in the south that we should not dwell on the issue of "surname capital" or "surname society". "The criterion of reform and opening up mainly depends on whether it is conducive to developing the productive forces of socialist society, enhancing the comprehensive national strength of socialist countries and improving people’s living standards". It is the emancipation of the mind again and again that has enabled China’s economic and social development to gain new vitality and motivation. Practice has proved that without emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts, there will be no breakthrough in reform and an open mind. The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee pointed out that there is no end to the development of practice, the emancipation of the mind and the reform and opening up. This further clarifies the decisive role of the market in resource allocation.And made a decision to comprehensively deepen the reform, and pushed the theory of reform to a new breadth and depth.
Adhere to the reform direction of market allocation of resources. The market-oriented reform of transportation is a main line running through the 40 years of transportation reform and opening up. In 1983, the Ministry of Communications put forward the reform policy of "everyone should take the boat when there is a river, and everyone should take the car when there is a road". "All departments, industries and regions should work together, and state-owned, collective, individual and various means of transport should go together", which broke through the shackles of ownership and allowed self-employed individuals to enter the transportation market, greatly promoting the development of transportation capacity and effectively alleviating the tension in transportation. In 1985, the railway carried out the "all-in-one contract". In 1986, the State Council approved the "Plan on Implementing the Economic Contract Responsibility System by the Ministry of Railways" by five ministries and commissions, and implemented the economic contract responsibility system of "building roads by roads". In 1993, the first joint-stock railway company — — Guangzhou-shenzhen railway Co., Ltd. was established and successfully listed in Hongkong and new york in 1996. In 1995, "Several Opinions on Accelerating the Cultivation and Development of Road Transportation Market" proposed to establish a unified, open and competitive road transportation system throughout the country. In 1996, the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of China’s Water Transport Market" proposed to promote the cultivation and improvement of the water transport market; The establishment of Shanghai Shipping Exchange is of great significance to standardize the trading behavior of shipping market, adjust market prices and deepen the reform of waterway transportation market. Since the 18th CPC National Congress,The transportation sector has accelerated the pace of market-oriented reform, actively promoted and deepened the "streamline administration, delegate power, strengthen regulation and improve services" reform, and effectively stimulated the vitality of market competition. In 2014, the Opinions of the Ministry of Transport on Comprehensively Deepening Transportation Reform focused on the main line of deepening reform, strengthened the top-level design, and deployed 42 reform tasks and more than 150 reform measures in terms of improving comprehensive transportation, establishing and improving the modern transportation market system, and transforming and upgrading transportation. In 2016, the Opinions on Further Deepening Civil Aviation Reform put forward 40 reform tasks in 10 aspects in the face of the new situation and new tasks of civil aviation development. In 2017, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued "Several Opinions on Deepening the Reform of Oil and Gas System", demanding that the fair access mechanism of oil and gas pipelines be further improved and the oil and gas pipelines be fair and open to third-party market players.
Adhere to the reform direction of diversified investment and financing. In the past 40 years of reform and opening-up, the field of transportation construction has been constantly deepening reform in the direction of broadening financing channels and diversified investment. In 1984, the fifty-fourth executive meeting of the State Council approved and agreed to raise the collection standard of road maintenance fees, levy vehicle purchase surcharges, and allow "road repair by loan and repayment by charge". These three things have important historical significance, which have provided a stable source of funds for highway construction and an environment for accelerating development. In 1983, the Ministry of Communications put forward the principle of "who invests, who uses, who benefits" and encouraged cargo owners to invest in the construction of docks. In 1986, the state decided to levy port construction fees on the goods of 26 coastal ports, and implemented the policy of "keeping ports in Hong Kong, so that the income can offset the expenditure", and the port construction funds had a stable channel. During the Seventh Five-Year Plan period, China’s first joint venture railway — — Sanmao railway started construction. In 1992, the State Council approved the Notice of the State Planning Commission and the Ministry of Railways on the Development of Central and Local Joint-venture Railway Construction, which defined the development mode of the central and local joint-venture railway construction. In 1991, the railway began to levy a construction fund of 2% per ton kilometer, and the railway construction funds were basically guaranteed. Apart from the "one-nine-system" preferential treatment, civil aviation construction is also exempted from all other taxes.It has successively formulated regulations allowing local governments, domestic enterprises and private capital to invest in civil aviation enterprises and airports, and carried out pilot reforms of local investment in the construction and management of airports. In 2004, the State Council promulgated the Regulations on the Management of Toll Roads, which fixed the policy of "building roads with loans and repaying loans with fees" through laws and regulations. At present, China’s transportation construction field has basically formed a diversified transportation financing pattern of "state investment, local financing, social financing and introduction of foreign capital".
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, in 2013, the State Council’s Opinions on Reforming Railway Investment and Financing System and Accelerating Railway Construction proposed to fully open the railway construction market and encourage social capital to invest in railway construction. Investment in oil pipeline construction is gradually released to third parties. In 2013, PetroChina introduced Taikang assets and 60 billion yuan of capital from the League of Nations Fund to establish "China Petroleum Pipeline Union Co., Ltd.". In 2015, the Guiding Opinions of the Ministry of Transport on Deepening the Investment and Financing Reform of Transportation Infrastructure proposed to establish and improve the investment and financing management system of "government-led, graded responsibility, diversified financing, standardized and efficient" for transportation development. In 2016, the Civil Aviation Administration of China’s Opinions on Encouraging Social Capital to Invest in the Construction and Operation of Civil Airports proposed that the market for the construction and operation of civil airports should be fully liberalized, and social capital should be widely attracted to participate in the construction and operation of civil airports and their service supporting facilities.
Adhere to the management system reform direction of separating government from enterprise. In the past 40 years of reform and opening up, the transportation management system has always been moving in the direction of separating government from enterprises and integrating comprehensive transportation. In 1980, civil aviation was placed under the management of the State Council by the army and began to take the road of enterprise. In 1984, the Ministry of Communications put forward a reform idea with "transfer, separation, liberalization" and "realizing two changes" as the main contents, realized the separation of government from enterprises, strengthened industry management, and established a five-level traffic administrative organization. Subsequently, 14 coastal ports and 26 key ports of the Yangtze River were all decentralized. In 1985, the State Council approved the Report on the Reform of Civil Aviation Management System, speeding up the reform of "separating government from enterprises" and "separating airports from airlines", and establishing an independent civil aviation air traffic management system by separating the Administration Bureau, airlines and airports. In 1993, the State Council approved Guangzhou Railway Bureau to set up Guangzhou Railway (Group) Company and set up a modern enterprise system as a pilot project. In 1995, Dalian Railway Co., Ltd. was established to actively explore the separation of railway administration from enterprise management. In 1996, the Ministry of Communications "Deepening the Reform of Water Transport Management System" proposed to promote the reform of water transport management system, set up a maritime bureau, and implement the management system of "one water, one supervision, one port and one supervision". In 1998, the two major petroleum and petrochemical groups reorganized, and the reform of oil and gas pipeline network continued to advance in the direction of marketization and specialization. In 2001,The Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Deepening the Reform of Port Management System Directly under the Central Government and under the Dual Leadership proposes that the port should be completely decentralized to local management. In 2002, civil aviation started the reform of "separation of government and capital" and "localization of airport". In 2005, the railway sub-bureau was abolished and the railway bureau directly managed the stations and sections, and the separation of railway administration from enterprises and the management of market entities continued to deepen. In 2008, the Civil Aviation Administration was abolished, and the Civil Aviation Administration was established and placed under the management of the Ministry of Transport. At the same time, the State Post Bureau was also placed under the management of the Ministry of Transport. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the State Council has abolished the Ministry of Railways and established the National Railway Administration, which is managed by the Ministry of Transport. So far, the Ministry of Transport has managed the National Railway Administration, the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the State Post Bureau, and is responsible for coordinating the development of railways, highways, waterways, civil aviation and postal services, basically forming a "multi-department" management system for transportation.
Insist on the direction of opening to the outside world. At the same time of internal reform, the transportation sector is actively opening to the outside world. At the beginning of 1979, China Merchants, an enterprise affiliated to the Ministry of Communications, took the lead in establishing Shekou Industrial Zone in Shenzhen, which started the "first shot" of reform and opening up. In the early 1980s, foreign government loans and World Bank loans were introduced into China’s transportation construction. In 1983, the World Bank loans were introduced to the first-class highway from Xi ‘an to Sanyuan in Shaanxi for the first time, which not only introduced funds, but also introduced advanced project management systems in the world, such as project supervision system and project bidding system. In 1984, the electrification project of China’s North Tongpu Railway used the World Bank loan of 219 million dollars for the first time. Jinwen Railway Company was established in 1991. Jinwen Railway was the first railway in China to introduce foreign capital, and Hong Kong Lianying Industrial Co., Ltd. invested 45.86 million US dollars (80%). In 1988, the first Sino-foreign joint venture road transport enterprise was approved, and in 1993, the Interim Provisions on the Examination and Approval of Foreign-invested Road Transport Project was promulgated, further liberalizing the road transport market. Civil aviation began to open to the outside world in the 1990s. In 1994, the Notice on Policies Concerning Foreign Investment in Civil Aviation was promulgated, and in 2002, the Regulations on Foreign Investment in Civil Aviation was implemented to further open the civil aviation market. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China’s transportation sector has been adhering to the "Belt and Road Initiative" and carrying the "five links".The major mission of "connecting facilities" is to actively promote the interconnection of transportation infrastructure, develop transportation to support the development of China’s foreign trade, and accelerate the "going out" of transportation. China-Europe trains galloped in Eurasia. By March 2018, the cumulative number of trains had exceeded 7,600, reaching 41 cities in 13 European countries, providing strong support for China’s new pattern of all-round opening up.
In addition, medium and long-term traffic development planning is also an important part of comprehensive traffic development road with China characteristics. At the end of 1980s, the Ministry of Communications put forward the development strategic plan of "three mainstays and one support", and the "Five Vertical and Seven Horizontal" national trunk line plan was approved and implemented by the State Council during the Eighth Five-Year Plan period, which is the plan with the highest approval level in the transportation system. In the 21st century, national-level plans have been issued one after another. In 2004, the State Council approved the Medium and Long-term Railway Network Plan and the National Expressway Network Plan, in 2005, the State Council approved the Rural Highway Construction Plan, in 2006, the State Council approved the National Coastal Port Layout Plan, and in 2007, the State Council approved the National Inland Waterway and Port Layout Plan, which promulgated China’s first comprehensive transportation plan — — Medium-and Long-term Development Plan of Comprehensive Transportation Network. In 2008, the State Council approved the National Civil Airport Layout Plan. After the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the State Council successively approved the new long-term planning of roads, railways, civil airports and oil and gas pipelines. The introduction of national medium-and long-term transportation planning not only ensures the national political, economic and national defense security, but also enhances the macro-control ability, integrates the superior transportation resources, and rationally arranges them, while ensuring scientific and orderly development.
Third, the new era opens a new chapter in the transportation power.
The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has formulated a grand blueprint for building a socialist modern power in an all-round way and put forward a grand goal of building a transportation power. This is a strategic deployment made by the CPC Central Committee with the Supreme Leader as the core from the overall development of the cause of the party and the country, and it is a historical mission entrusted to transportation in the new era.
Building a transportation power is the inherent requirement of building a socialist modernization power and realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Throughout the history of human civilization, developed transportation has always been an important symbol of strong comprehensive national strength. "If you want to be rich, build roads first" reveals the law of traffic and economic development simply and profoundly. Building a transportation power in the new era gives a new historical connotation of "building roads first if you want to get rich", which means building a safe, convenient, efficient, green and economical modern comprehensive transportation system, meeting the people’s growing needs for a better life, supporting the construction of China’s modern economic system and taking the lead in building a socialist modern power. The two complement each other. A modern transportation power, "people can do what they want and goods can flow smoothly".
To build a strong transportation country, we must always adhere to the basic idea of reform and opening up. "Only reformers advance, only innovators are strong, but those who reform and innovate win." On the basis of 40 years’ practice of reform and opening up, we will unswervingly push forward the reform, deepen the structural reform of the transportation supply side, focus on promoting the quality change, efficiency change and power change of transportation development, and adhere to the road of high-quality development. Innovation is the first driving force to lead development. We should be brave in innovation in transportation development power, service quality, science and technology, governance mode, security, system and mechanism, and take the road of innovation-driven development.
Optimize and upgrade the infrastructure network. In the 40 years of reform and opening up, China’s transportation infrastructure has developed rapidly, and its scale ranks among the top in the world, making it a veritable transportation power. In the future, it will gradually change from "construction-oriented" to "operation and maintenance-oriented", and infrastructure construction will mainly "fill shortcomings" and optimize networks. Strengthen the application of modern science and technology in transportation infrastructure and vigorously promote the development of a new generation of digital and intelligent infrastructure. At the same time, we should pay attention to the maintenance and management of infrastructure and improve the quality and operational efficiency of transportation infrastructure.
Highlight the basic function of transportation in serving the economy and society. The basic function of transportation is to provide high-quality and efficient transportation services, which is also the most fundamental requirement of "strong country" in transportation. The structural reform of the transportation supply side should focus on meeting the people’s growing demand for high-quality transportation, providing safe, convenient and comfortable transportation services, and constantly enhancing the people’s sense of happiness, acquisition and security. The structural reform of transportation supply side should focus on meeting the needs of the construction of modern economic system, promoting the development of modern logistics, optimizing and adjusting the transportation structure, balancing various modes of transportation, and promoting the logistics of the whole society to "reduce costs and increase efficiency".
Public transport-oriented urban development model. Urban traffic congestion is a worldwide problem. With the acceleration of urbanization, traffic congestion is not only the "patent" of big cities, but also many small and medium-sized cities have begun to suffer from "urban diseases" of congestion. By the end of 2017, the number of cars in China had reached 217 million, with 53 cities having more than one million cars and 24 cities having more than two million cars. General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out: "We should put solving the traffic congestion problem in an important position in urban development and accelerate the formation of a safe, convenient, efficient, green and economical comprehensive transportation system." "Developing public transportation is the direction of modern city development." We should adhere to the public transport-oriented urban land space planning, build a convenient and smooth three-dimensional urban transportation system, vigorously develop intelligent transportation technology, strengthen traffic demand management, and adopt a sustainable urban transportation development model.
Focus on developing advanced intelligent transportation. Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) is the development direction of future transportation system and a revolution in transportation. By integrating and applying advanced information, communication, sensing, control and other technologies, the interaction among people, vehicles and roads can be presented in a new way, thus achieving the goals of real-time, accuracy, efficiency, safety and energy saving. Cooperative intelligent transportation and autonomous driving will become the focus of intelligent transportation development in the future. We should vigorously implement the leading strategy of scientific and technological innovation, strengthen the application of basic research and the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, promote the deep integration of new technologies such as the Internet, big data and artificial intelligence with transportation, and accelerate the development of intelligent transportation in China.
Construct a modern comprehensive traffic management system. Modern comprehensive traffic management system is a "soft power" and a "hard requirement" for a traffic power. Coordinate various modes of transportation, innovate organization and management methods, establish a unified, open and competitive transportation market, and continuously promote the modernization of governance system and governance capacity. Apply modern scientific and technological means to improve the level of traffic management, information sharing and decision support. Strengthen the construction of traffic legal system and culture. Adhere to the concept of safe development, strengthen the construction of safety guarantee system and emergency rescue system, and consolidate the foundation of a strong transportation country.
In the 40 years of reform and opening up, the Chinese nation has achieved prosperity from standing up, greatly liberated and developed China’s social productive forces, and opened up the road to Socialism with Chinese characteristics, which fully proved that reform and opening up is the key choice to determine the fate of contemporary China, the source of vitality for the development and progress of contemporary China, an important magic weapon for the cause of the party and the people to catch up with the times in great strides, and the only way to uphold and develop Socialism with Chinese characteristics and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. At present, standing at a new historical starting point, Socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, opening the road of the Chinese nation’s great rejuvenation and strengthening the country from being rich to being strong. Under the guidance of the Supreme Leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era, we must unswervingly adhere to the road of Socialism with Chinese characteristics and unswervingly follow the correct road of reform and opening up, the road of strengthening the country and enriching the people. Adhere to the people-centered development thinking, constantly meet the people’s growing needs for a better life, and make the fruits of reform and development more fair and benefit all the people. In the new journey of winning the great victory of Socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, we will continue to strive for self-improvement and self-innovation, unswervingly deepen the reform in an all-round way, open roads on every mountain, bridge bridges when encountering water, carry out the reform to the end, strive to open a new chapter in the transportation power, and take the lead in building a socialist modern power.
