On December 25, the Infrastructure Development Department of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) published an article titled "Accelerating the Building of a Modern Infrastructure System."

The article states that solid efforts will be made to advance the building of a modern infrastructure system for the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Spatial layout will be improved. With a focus on networking, filling gaps, and strengthening chains, the breadth of network coverage, depth of connectivity, and level of international linkage will be enhanced, thereby expanding strategic space for national development and security. In the transportation sector, high-quality construction will be carried out for strategic backbone corridors such as those along the coast, borders, and rivers, those leading from Xinjiang into Tibet, and the New Western Land-Sea Corridor; the railway, highway, waterway, and civil aviation networks will be improved; shortcomings in transportation in less-developed areas such as the western regions and border areas will be addressed at an accelerated pace; infrastructure renewal and digital-intelligent upgrading will be strengthened; and a diversified and resilient international transport corridor system will be improved.

Infrastructure represented by transportation, energy, water conservancy, and information (digital) networks plays a fundamental, guiding, and strategic role in national economic development. The Recommendations adopted at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China set out top-level design and strategic planning for building a modern infrastructure system over the next five years, serving as a renewed mobilization and deployment to seize the momentum, keep pace with the times, and promote high-quality infrastructure development.

The NDRC will earnestly study and implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech, thoroughly implement the deployment requirements of the Recommendations, scientifically formulate special plans for the infrastructure sector for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, accelerate the building of a modern infrastructure system, and better support Chinese modernization.