From December 22 to 23, the 2026 National Transportation Work Conference was held at the Party School of the Ministry of Transport. The conference summarized transportation work in 2025 and during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, and laid out key tasks for 2026.
The conference emphasized that to do a good job in next year’s transportation work, we must take proactive measures to stabilize investment, maintain steady growth in key indicators such as passenger and freight volumes, and ensure safety and stability. We should also strive to achieve new breakthroughs in perfecting the infrastructure network, reducing overall social logistics costs, and fostering the development of new-quality productivity.
Among these, promoting cost reduction, quality improvement, and efficiency enhancement in transportation and logistics; deeply implementing the 'Artificial Intelligence + Transportation' initiative; and upgrading highway service areas will be key priorities for next year.
Wang Wei, deputy director of the China Institute of Transportation Studies at Tongji University, told a reporter from 21st Century Business Herald that, following the construction and development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the interconnectedness and network resilience of the integrated transportation system have been further enhanced, thereby boosting coordinated regional development and high-level opening-up. Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period, it is necessary to accelerate the completion of a multi-directional, three-dimensional, internally smooth and externally connected integrated transportation network, promote the deep integration of artificial intelligence and other technologies with logistics, and build a more resilient modern logistics system.
A Detailed Explanation of the "Three Turns"
The meeting pointed out that over the past five years, the transportation sector has achieved new major accomplishments. China has made breakthrough progress in building a comprehensive transportation system, significantly enhancing its overall transportation capacity, service quality, and operational efficiency, thus laying a solid foundation for transportation development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
The meeting emphasized the need to accurately grasp the stage-specific characteristics of transportation development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period and deeply understand the "three shifts":
Specifically, the approach to building a comprehensive transportation system has shifted from a fragmented, network-based, integrated promotion model to one that emphasizes coordinated regional planning, seamless intermodal integration, and deep cross-sectoral convergence. The driving forces behind development have also shifted—from being primarily driven by factor inputs to being jointly propelled by structural optimization, digital and intelligent empowerment, and green transformation. The growth model has transitioned from large-scale incremental expansion to a more intensive form of development focused on optimizing new growth and improving the quality of existing assets.
The meeting outlined several specific tasks for next year, including accelerating the completion of the main framework of the national integrated and立体 transportation network, vigorously implementing upgrades and digital and intelligent transformations of transportation infrastructure, and strengthening project reserves and resource guarantees. It also called for advancing the construction of major cross-regional and cross-basin corridors, speeding up the integration of urban agglomerations and the convergence of metropolitan areas, supporting the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas, and providing all-round support and safeguards for overall national security.
Regarding reducing costs, improving quality, and enhancing efficiency in transportation and logistics, the meeting emphasized the need to launch a vigorous campaign to promote multimodal transport, boost the quality and efficiency of transportation and logistics operations, and strengthen integrated transportation networks to ensure smooth flow of goods and services.
Li Hongchang, a researcher at the National High-end Think Tank’s Sustainable Transportation Innovation Center and a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, told a reporter from 21st Century Business Herald that reducing costs, improving quality, and enhancing efficiency in transportation and logistics can be categorized into two levels: single-mode transportation and integrated transportation.
Among these, reducing costs and improving efficiency in single-mode transportation can be achieved by developing new-quality productivity, involving multiple sectors such as new infrastructure, new business models, and new high-quality services. Integrated transportation can achieve cost reduction, quality improvement, and efficiency enhancement through measures such as perfecting the western land-sea corridors and developing multimodal transport.
Li Hongchang further stated that, in terms of integrated development, transportation and logistics can be integrated with import-export industries, tourism, and other related sectors. By connecting upstream and downstream industries through transportation and logistics, this integration can play a crucial, strategic, and leading role.
Integrated development of AI and transportation
The meeting proposed fostering and developing new-quality productivity in the transportation sector. We should strengthen efforts to tackle key core technologies, deeply implement the "Artificial Intelligence + Transportation" initiative, promote the standardized and healthy development of new business models, and accelerate the green and low-carbon transition.
Since the beginning of this year, the application of artificial intelligence technology in the transportation sector has continued to expand. According to information obtained by reporters from the Ministry of Transport, in terms of major innovation projects, six key initiatives have now been established: intelligent driving for large freight vehicles on major corridors, autonomous formation navigation for inland cargo ships, intelligent monitoring and management of major highway disasters, free-flow tolling on highways, high-speed maglev systems, and low-altitude land-air coordination.
These six major innovation projects will be fully deployed and implemented during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, leveraging a 'technology + engineering' model to promote the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation.
In addition, in terms of pilot demonstration applications, the Ministry of Transport has launched the "Ten-Hundred-Thousand" Innovation Initiative for Artificial Intelligence + Transportation, focusing on ten key areas—including intelligent driving, smart highways, smart railways, smart shipping, smart civil aviation, smart postal services, intelligent construction and maintenance, smart travel services, smart logistics, and intelligent safety supervision—and is planning over a hundred pilot demonstration projects, engaging thousands of innovative entities.
Recently, Xu Wenqiang, Director of the Science and Technology Department of the Ministry of Transport, revealed progress on the "Artificial Intelligence + Transportation" initiative. He stated that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, major national science and technology projects will further focus on building an intelligent, integrated, and three-dimensional transportation network, intensify efforts to develop key technologies for the integration of artificial intelligence and transportation, organize innovative entities to collaborate on tackling critical challenges, overcome major technological bottlenecks, develop key equipment, and innovate development models.
Meanwhile, we are accelerating the development of a comprehensive transportation large-scale model, building a unified scheduling platform that integrates multiple types of models, heterogeneous computing power, and general-purpose data, providing foundational capabilities for intelligent agent development across the entire industry.
Xu Wenqiang revealed that the comprehensive transportation large-scale model serves as the technological foundation for the integration of artificial intelligence and transportation—a 'smart brain' capable of thinking, analyzing, and making informed decisions. The transportation large-scale model we’re building is not limited to any specific product; rather, it adopts an '1+N+X' architecture, systematically coordinating innovative forces from various sectors to develop an algorithm library, datasets, and toolchains tailored for innovative AI applications.
Additionally, we need to optimize the industrial ecosystem and foster a favorable innovation environment. Adhering to the principle of 'market-led, government-supported,' we should encourage participation from all types of innovation entities and better leverage the role of enterprises as the main innovators. We must accelerate the refinement of the 'Artificial Intelligence + Transportation' standard system to support the development of new-quality productivity.
Next year, 10,000 new charging guns will be added in expressway service areas
The meeting proposed doing a good job on practical transportation initiatives that benefit the people. We will implement an upgrade initiative for highway service areas to better support and boost consumption, and optimize public transportation services.
At the press conference held by the State Council Information Office on December 23, Zhou Rongfeng, Director of the Highway Bureau of the Ministry of Transport, stated that next year, the Ministry of Transport plans to launch a nationwide initiative to upgrade and improve highway service areas, including enhancing the capacity to provide charging services and strengthening the renovation of public restrooms in these service areas.
Regarding the number of newly added charging facilities, Zhou Rongfeng revealed that by 2026, more than 10,000 charging guns will be built at highway service areas nationwide, with high-power charging guns accounting for no less than 25%. In service areas that experience particularly heavy charging demand during major holidays, as well as busy service areas where daily charging facility utilization rates exceed 40%, newly built charging facilities will, in principle, all adopt high-power technology.
Recently, the Ministry of Transport issued the "Notice on Promoting a Three-Year Doubling of Charging Infrastructure Capacity in Highway Service Areas (including Parking Areas)" (2025-2027), clearly outlining construction tasks for each province and detailing specific implementation measures to ensure that the construction targets are met on schedule.
The Notice emphasizes the need to strengthen the construction of high-power charging facilities and actively promote the upgrading of ultra-fast and high-power charging facilities in highway service areas. Newly built charging facilities should fully adopt fast-charging equipment with a capacity of 60 kW or higher, with high-power charging facilities accounting for no less than 25%. In principle, all upgraded and renovated charging facilities should also adopt high-power charging equipment. We will promote the construction of high-power charging facilities along the main corridors of the national highway network—‘71118’—as well as along major freight routes, and accelerate the development of dedicated high-power charging facilities for heavy-duty trucks.
Zhou Rongfeng said that they will also strengthen the age-friendly renovation and improvement of service area facilities. Taking into account the travel characteristics and development trends of elderly people, next year the Ministry of Transport will actively promote age-friendly renovations of public restrooms in service areas, ensuring that the proportion of seated toilets in service areas reaches at least 20%, and enhancing the maintenance and cleaning of these seated toilets.
The meeting also proposed further comprehensively deepening transportation reform and accelerating the construction of a unified and open transportation market. We should deepen international cooperation in transportation, support high-quality joint building of the Belt and Road Initiative, implement the Global Governance Initiative, and improve the international transport corridor system.
Li Hongchang stated that reducing costs and improving efficiency in the domestic market requires reform and integration in the transportation sector. Strengthening cooperation with other countries also calls for reforms and coordination in the transportation sector. Deepening reform to build a unified and open transportation market will not only facilitate high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative but also contribute to serving the broader goal of opening up the economy and society.
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