A freight train carrying medical supplies for the novel coronavirus fight leaves for Belgrade, Serbia, from Wuhan, Hubei province, on May 9, 2020. (LI XI / CHINA DAILY)

BEIJING - A modern comprehensive transport system will be in place by 2035 to substantially improve public satisfaction levels and better support national modernization, according to a white paper released Tuesday.

The system will be safe, convenient, efficient, green and economical, featuring world-class facilities, technologies, management and services, according to the white paper titled "Sustainable Development of Transport in China" released by the State Council Information Office.

The system will be safe, convenient, efficient, green and economical, featuring world-class facilities, technologies, management and services

The system will raise the coordinated transport development in urban and rural areas to new heights, the white paper reads.

To achieve such a goal, China is committed to people-centered development, and pursues supply-side structural reform as its main task, according to the document.

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It says the country will shift its focus from speed and scale to quality and efficiency, put more emphasis on integrated development of different kinds of transportation, and rely more on innovation for growth.

By 2035, the National 1-2-3 Travel Circle and the Global 1-2-3 Logistics Circle will take initial shape, providing convenient combined transport of passengers, and economical and efficient multimodal transport of goods, the white paper says.

The National 1-2-3 Travel Circle refers to one-hour commute time in cities, two hours' travel time within city clusters, and three hours to travel between major domestic cities, according to the white paper.

The National 1-2-3 Travel Circle refers to one-hour commute time in cities, two hours' travel time within city clusters, and three hours to travel between major domestic cities

The Global 1-2-3 Logistics Circle means one-day delivery to destinations within China, two-day delivery to neighboring countries, and three-day delivery to major global cities, according to the document.

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In addition, China will make marked progress in developing intelligent, safe, green and shared transport by 2035, easing urban traffic congestion and creating a barrier-free travel system.

The country will establish a sci-tech innovation system for transport, develop advanced and safe key equipment, train high-caliber professionals, and create a sound market environment, says in the document.

It will achieve the basic modernization of its transport governance, the document says, adding that the country's international competitiveness and influence in transport will be improved markedly.

Low-carbon 

China has worked hard to conserve energy, reduce emissions and develop low-carbon transport to boost economic development, says in the white paper.

It has strictly implemented a system that controls both the total amount and intensity of energy consumption to improve the overall efficiency of transport.

The national railway electrification rate has reached 71.9 percent. There are now more than 400,000 buses and 430,000 trucks using new energy, 180,000 natural gas vehicles and 290 liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships.

About 14 percent of airport vehicles and facilities are run on new energy sources, substitute facilities for aircraft auxiliary power units (APUs) are in full use and the numbers of postal vehicles run on new and clean energy and those that are in service in key regions are steadily increasing.

New business forms 
China is seeing a rise in new models and forms of business in transport, bringing convenience to people and injecting fresh momentum to economic growth. 

China is seeing a rise in new models and forms of business in transport, bringing convenience to people and injecting fresh momentum to economic growth

The following are facts and figures on how the Internet is having a profound impact on the way people travel:

-- By the end of 2019, more than 400 cities across the country had online car-hailing services, with daily usage averaging 20 million trips.

-- Bike-sharing has effectively bridged the last kilometer in urban travel, with daily usage averaging more than 45.7 million trips.

-- The Internet is also changing freight logistics. The 95306 online platform for railway freight services was put in place. In 2019, the online rail freight service handling rate rose to 85 percent.

-- In 2019, a total of 3.57 billion tickets were sold on 12306.cn, China's official website for booking train tickets. Electronic tickets can be bought at almost all railway stations.

-- China is on the way to achieving full Wi-Fi coverage in high-speed trains and stations. It has also made innovations to roll out services such as online meal booking, wireless charging and intelligent interaction.

-- By the end of 2019, over 98 percent of the bus terminals at the county level and above offer province-side online ticket booking services.  

Leader in technology

The following are some world-leading mega-projects and technologies listed by the white paper:

-- China leads the world in technology for railways at high altitudes and in extremely low temperatures, and for high-speed and heavy-haul railways.

China leads the world in technology for railways at high altitudes and in extremely low temperatures, and for high-speed and heavy-haul railways

-- It has solved the most challenging technical problems confronting highway construction in difficult geological conditions such as plateau permafrost, expansive soil, and desert. It also leads in core technologies for building deep-water offshore ports, improving massive estuary and long waterways, and building large airports.

-- By the end of 2019, the total length of high-speed railway lines across the country exceeded 35,000 km, making up more than two thirds of the world's total.

-- The Beijing-Guangzhou High-speed Railway, the longest high-speed rail line in the world, has been completed. The Harbin-Dalian High-speed Railway, the world's first high-speed rail line operating at low temperatures in winter is open to traffic. The Datong-Qinhuangdao Heavy-haul Railway ranks top in the world in terms of annual transport volume.

-- China leads the world in the total length and number of highway bridges and tunnels in service and under construction. It has seven of the ten longest cable-stayed bridges, six of the ten longest suspension bridges, six of the ten longest cross-sea bridges, and eight of the ten highest bridges in the world.

-- The Fuxing electric multiple units trains have been running at 350 km/h - the highest operating speed in the world - on the Beijing-Shanghai Highspeed Rail, the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Rail and the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-speed Rail.

-- China became the first in the world to realize autopilot on trains running at a speed of 350 km/h.

-- The manufacturing technologies for special marine engineering machinery vessels and complete sets of large automated and specialized container handling equipment rank top in the world.