China.org.cn | October 28, 2020
Ma Junsheng:
Just now, I introduced some indicators of the developments of our industry during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. We have achieved the goals and tasks we set. One of the tasks assigned by the central government to our postal industry is to cover all administrative villages with direct postal services during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. Before this period, about 36,000 administrative villages, 6.6 percent of all villages, did not have direct access to postal services, most of which are located in the western region, areas with ethnic minority populations, old revolutionary base areas, and border areas. Most of these villages are poor with inconvenient transportation and scattered postal service outlets. To achieve the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, we have earnestly implemented the original mission of "People's Post serves the People" and for five consecutive years given the priority to the task ofcovering all administrative villages with direct postal services, as part of our agenda to serve the people. We increased investment, optimized the network, and overcame all difficulties. In August of 2019, we finally achieved the goal one year ahead of schedule. So far, villagers in 556,000 administrative villages across the country can receive postal services without leaving their village.
At the same time, we continue to optimize the policy environment to promote the platform and intelligent development of express delivery terminals. The layout of public service stations and smart parcel delivery lockers is also more complete. Nearly 110,000 public express delivery service stations have been built across the country, and 93 percent of the outlets are standardized. These service facilities have played a significant role in this year's epidemic prevention and control. With these facilities, effective package delivery services can be provided. Postmen and couriers can collect packages that senders have dropped off at designated outlets, which effectively reduces their face-to-face contact with consumers and minimizes the risk of spreading the epidemic via the delivery process. That's all I want to add. Thank you.
Liu Zhenfang:
Regarding railways, we have resolutely implemented the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council and fully implemented the 13th Five-Year Plan for Railway Development to promote high-quality development of railways. The Plan puts forward 10 main indicators in three aspects, which will be achieved by the end of 2020.
First, in terms of road network construction, the total commercial mileage of the nation's railwayshas reached 146,000 km, an increase of 25,000 kilometers from the end of 2015; among them, high-speed railways made up 38,000 kilometers, an increase of 19,000 kilometers from the end of 2015. The commercial mileage of railways in the central and western regions cover a distance of 90,000 kilometers. The proportion of double-line railways reached 60 percent, and the proportion of electric railways reached 73 percent. The railway network coverage in cities with populations over 200,000 has reached 99%. The coverage of high-speed rail networks in large cities with populations over one million has reached 95 percent.
Secondly, in terms of passenger and freight transport, in 2019, 3.66 billion people traveled by rail, an increase of 44.4percent from the last year of the 12th Five-Year Plan; the volume of passenger transportation reached 1.47 trillion person-kilometers, an increase of 22.5percent; China railways carried 4.389 billion tons of freight, an increase of 30.7 percent while generating 3.02 trillion cargo ton-kilometers, an increase of 26.9 percent.
Transportation capacity has been significantly improved. Electrical Multiple Units (EMUs) have become the main force in passenger transport. The passenger trips delivered by China Railways High-speed (CRH) trains account for approximately 70 percent of all railway passenger trips. The ratio of online ticket sales exceeds 80 percent.
Third, in terms of green development, we have helped win the "fight to keep our skies blue" and further promoted the adjustment of the transportation structure. The railway freight market share has increased from 7.8 percent in 2017 to 9.5 percent in 2019, and the comparative advantages of railways have been given full play. The energy consumption of railway transport has been further reduced. In 2019, the total energy consumption per unit of railway transport was 3.94 tons of standard coal per million conversion ton-kilometers, down by 16.3 percent from 2015. Great efforts have been made in the comprehensive management of the environment along the railway. The green corridors and the most beautiful CRH trains are becoming well known. The green development of the railway has made significant progress. Thank you.
Li Xiaopeng:
Thank you for the additional information. In general, the briefings showed that we can complete the goals and tasks set in the 13th Five-Year Plan. Here, I would like to thank the whole country and news outlets for their attention and support in the transportation sector. Although we can meet the goals of the 13th Five-Year Plan, there is still work to do if we want to meet the requirements of the CPC Central Committee, people's new expectations for a better life, and the requirements of economic and social development. In the upcoming 14th Five-Year Plan, we will continue to build China's transportation industry to provide good service to our people, ensure reliable operations and maintain our international competitiveness. Thank you.