China unveils plan to upgrade rural roads

BEIJING -- China on Wednesday unveiled an action plan for a new round of rural road upgrades as part of its efforts to improve rural transport infrastructure and boost rural revitalization.

The plan, released by the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources, outlines ambitious goals to elevate the technical standards of rural roads, address maintenance gaps, and build an efficient rural network to support agricultural modernization.

The plan includes detailed objectives, such as constructing or upgrading 300,000 kilometers of rural roads and performing restorative maintenance on another 300,000 kilometers of existing roads. It mandates that over 70 percent of rural roads should be maintained in "good condition," and that public bus networks should be expanded to cover 55 percent of villages.

The central government will allocate funds for the initiative, and provincial authorities must coordinate local resources for rural road construction, management, maintenance and operations. Irregular debt financing will be strictly prohibited and new hidden government debt will be banned, with enhanced budget supervision imposed at all administrative levels, according to the plan.

Innovative financing channels will be encouraged, including the lawful, compliant participation of financial institutions and private entities in rural road development. Efforts to explore increased medium-to-long-term credit support, establish sustainable funding mechanisms and pilot differentiated loan models under market-based principles will also be encouraged, per the plan.