21st Century Business Herald:

Roads should be well-built and maintained. In response to the problems of insufficient funds for rural road maintenance and difficulties in management, what measures has the MOT taken to ensure the long-term sound operation of rural roads? Thank you.

Li Yang:

Thank you. I would like to invite Mr. Zhou to answer your question about the funding for rural road maintenance.

Zhou Rongfeng:

Thank you for your question. We often say, "A well-functioning road network relies 30% on construction and 70% on maintenance." This speaks volumes about the importance of rural road maintenance. After years of continuous effort, we have had a good report card in this regard. The proportion of rural roads classified as premier, good and medium has been raised from 79% at the end of 2013 to 91.1% at the end of 2023. Over the years, we have continuously increased investment in rural road maintenance as well as have explored and applied new models and technologies. Mainly, we have made efforts in the following few aspects: 

First, we have improved the system of standards and specifications for rural road maintenance. We have officially launched a range of technical standards and specifications, including Technical Specifications for Maintenance of Rural Highway, Standards for Rural Highway Condition Assessment and Budget Compilation Method for Rural Road Maintenance. By doing so, we have established a system for technical standards that adapt to the current stage of rural road development. At the same time, we have guided local governments in implementing road maintenance projects covering regular maintenance, preventative maintenance, repair maintenance, specialized maintenance and emergency maintenance. All these efforts have clarified the content and requirements with maintenance work and have made our work more standardized and specialized.  

Second, we have further guaranteed sufficient funding for rural road maintenance. Based on factors such as road length and changes with maintenance costs, we have set up a mechanism for making dynamic adjustments to subsidy policies related to regular rural road maintenance. We have also increased the portion of fuel oil tax revenue that is allocated for subsidies with rural road maintenance. Subsidies granted to local governments for phasing out tolls on government-financed Grade II highways have been provided as a type of reward for good local performance with supporting rural road maintenance. We have guided local governments to make the best of policies with transfer payments for equalizing access to basic public services as well as with tax rebates. We have also actively explored the way to bundle rural road maintenance projects with profitable projects like some supporting facilities. All these efforts have introduced new fundraising methods and have expanded financing channels. In addition, to support rural road maintenance, we have incorporated road management and maintenance in the procurement services guidance catalog and have explored mechanisms such as disaster insurance for rural roads.

Third, we have promoted scientific decision-making for road maintenance. We have strengthened the application of information technology and have promoted digital transformation, integrating scientific decision-making into the entire process of rural road maintenance. We have actively promoted new technologies, techniques, materials and equipment in rural road maintenance, applying R&D efforts to automatic vehicles and portable devices to examine road surface conditions. By doing so, we have moved faster to promote the automatic examination of rural road conditions, as well as have strengthened data analysis and application, offering data support for scientific decision-making. 

Fourth, we have created new organizational models for road maintenance. We have systematically advanced market-oriented reform of rural road maintenance and have recruited professional companies to provide maintenance services, improving the specialization, mechanization and scale of maintenance operations. Meanwhile, we have strengthened technical training for rural road employees, effectively combining general and professional maintenance. Novel organizational models of rural road maintenance have been encouraged, such as combined tendering for the construction and maintenance of trunk highways and rural roads, overall contracting for zonal maintenance of rural roads as well as combined tendering for rural road construction and maintenance. All these efforts have made rural road maintenance operations more specialized. 

Thank you.