On March 5, the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress opened in Beijing, and Premier Li Qiang delivered the government work report. Many of the economic and social development achievements mentioned in the report are related to railways, explicitly proposing high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road," upgrading the development level of China-Europe and China-Central Asia freight trains, and accelerating the construction of the Western Land-Sea New Corridor.

The report summarized the government's achievements in stabilizing economic operation, smoothing the national economic cycle, and promoting coordinated urban-rural and regional development over the past year. As the backbone of the national comprehensive transportation system, railways have integrated many high-quality development achievements into the overall national development strategy. In 2025, the quality of railway passenger transport supply was comprehensively improved. The national railway completed 4.258 billion passenger trips, a year-on-year increase of 4.2%, with a peak daily passenger volume of 23.132 million, setting a new historical record. The national railway completed 4.068 billion tons of freight transport, a year-on-year increase of 2.1%. While passenger and freight transport were both booming, the railway construction tasks for 2025 were successfully completed. The national railway completed 901.5 billion yuan of fixed asset investment, a year-on-year increase of 6%, and put 3,109 kilometers of new lines into operation, including 2,862 kilometers of high-speed rail. By the end of 2025, the total operating mileage of China's railways reached 165,000 kilometers, including 50,000 kilometers of high-speed rail.

The report, in its key work deployment for 2026, outlined a coordinated approach to promoting the construction of major landmark projects and "small but beautiful" livelihood projects. It emphasized upgrading the development level of China-Europe and China-Central Asia freight trains and accelerating the construction of the Western Land-Sea New Corridor. The report also stressed the need to focus on building a strong domestic market, accelerating high-level technological self-reliance, further expanding high-level opening-up, and solidly promoting the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas. It explicitly stated the need to strengthen alignment with national strategies for joint construction and to implement "hard connectivity," "soft connectivity," and "heart-to-heart connectivity" in a thorough and meticulous manner.

In the past year, China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. closely aligned with major national strategies, pragmatically promoted key overseas projects, and built an international railway logistics brand. In 2025, the China-Europe and China-Central Asia freight trains operated 34,000 trains, transporting 3.17 million TEUs, representing year-on-year increases of 9.8% and 7.6%, respectively. Among these, the China-Europe freight trains exceeded 20,000 trains; the Western Land-Sea New Corridor freight trains transported 1.42 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 47.5%.

The "hard connectivity" of railway construction is transforming into "heart-to-heart connectivity" of cultural exchange. Earlier this year, the "crying horse" (a type of traditional Chinese horse) produced in Yiwu was transported to Europe via the China-Europe Railway Express, resonating with people in Belt and Road Initiative countries. In recent years, my country has accelerated the construction of railway corridors and ports with neighboring countries and regions, gradually building a high-level interconnected network, promoting cross-border transportation development, and providing strong support for international trade and cultural exchanges.

"Regarding 'Made in China,' I want to share something with you!" On the morning of March 5th, Fang Haoming, a reporter from Dubai-based China-Arab TV, was surrounded by colleagues at the Great Hall of the People. "I recently went to the Middle East, and there were Chinese cars everywhere. In recent years, Chinese cars have suddenly become very popular; everyone thinks they are affordable and comfortable to drive."

The China-Europe Railway Express is a flagship project and iconic brand of the Belt and Road Initiative. Fang Haoming witnessed the successful delivery of goods via the China-Europe Railway Express. At this year's National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (NPC & CPPCC), he also wanted to see how China will continue to promote high-level opening-up and allow more Chinese-made products to reach the world.

(Source: People's Railway)

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