From December 22 to 23, the 2026 National Transportation Work Conference took place at the Party School of the Ministry of Transport. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the conference thoroughly embraced the essence of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and all subsequent plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee. It provided a comprehensive review of transportation achievements in 2025 and throughout the '14th Five-Year Plan' period, while also outlining key assignments for 2026.

The conference underscored that, to excel in transportation endeavors in the coming year, it is imperative to diligently apply the principles outlined in the Central Economic Work Conference. This involves adhering to the tenets of steady advancement and quality enhancement, and taking proactive steps to stabilize investment, sustain steady growth in crucial indicators like passenger and freight volumes, and guarantee safety and stability. Efforts must be directed towards achieving fresh milestones in enhancing the infrastructure network, lowering logistics costs across the board, and fostering the growth of new, high-quality productive forces.

Specific strategies encompass:

• Firstly, refining the national comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network by expediting the completion of its main framework and implementing upgrades and digital and intelligent transformations of transportation infrastructure.
• Secondly, bolstering service and support capabilities for major national strategies, advancing the construction of cross-regional and cross-basin major corridors, and facilitating the integration of urban agglomerations, metropolitan area urbanization (urban circle integration), the comprehensive revitalization of rural regions, and overall national security.
• Thirdly, driving down costs, elevating quality, and boosting efficiency in transportation logistics by implementing multi-modal transport strategies to address key challenges, enhancing operational quality and efficiency, and fortifying the assurance of seamless transportation.
• Fourthly, nurturing and developing new, high-quality productive forces within the transportation sector by intensifying research on pivotal core technologies, fully executing the 'Artificial Intelligence + Transportation' strategy, promoting the standardized and healthy development of emerging business models, and accelerating the transition towards green and low-carbon operations.