China's Ministry of Transport announced significant progress in building and operating key transportation projects in 2024 at a news briefing on Friday. 

Officials also outlined plans for the coming year, including advancing major projects, developing general aviation and low-altitude industries, and reducing logistics costs. 

Vice Minister Li Yang highlighted the rising demand for transportation due to China's rapid economic growth. He noted that during the 2024 Spring Festival travel season, cross-regional passenger flows reached 8.4 billion trips. Over the seven-day National Day holiday, 2 billion trips were recorded, with an average of 286 million trips per day. And highway traffic totaled 68.41 million vehicles during the seven-day holiday, 15.9 percent of which were electric, showing the rapid growth in popularity of new energy vehicles. 

Li added that China's freight transport also performed well, with annual volumes expected to reach 56.5 billion tonnes, a 3.5 percent increase over the previous year. Port cargo throughput this year is forecast to hit 17.5 billion tonnes, up 3.4 percent. 

China completed a series of major projects in 2024, said the minister, including the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, the Huangmaohai Cross-Sea Passage and the Chizhou-Huangshan high-speed railway. According to the ministry, by year-end, China's railway network is expected to exceed 160,000 kilometers, with nearly 47,000 kilometers of high-speed rail in operation. 

China also achieved progress in international transportation projects, such as the launch of the China-Europe Trans-Caspian Express service and the opening of Chancay Port in Peru, further boosting global connectivity.

In 2025, the ministry plans to enhance regional transportation, improve commuting within major city clusters, and expand inland waterway and seaport infrastructure.

Efforts will also focus on lowering logistics costs by promoting rail and water freight, increasing data sharing and optimizing transport efficiency. The ministry predicted that these efforts could save 300 billion yuan ($41.1 billion) in 2025.