Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, September 2. Title: Further unblocking the "strings" of the real economy - Observation on promoting the construction of logistics networks in the first year of the "15th Five-Year Plan"
Xinhua News Agency reporters Ye Haoming and Wang Yuhao
Just like the "supply and demand link" for economic and social operations, the logistics network is deeply rooted in the land of China, promoting the expansion of domestic demand, industrial development, urban-rural interconnection, smoothing the national economic cycle, and meeting the needs of all walks of life. It is a key benchmark for testing the modernization level of the circulation of commodities and resource elements, and an important foundation for the smooth circulation and high-quality development of the national economy.
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that "logistics is the 'string' of the real economy, connecting production and consumption, domestic trade and foreign trade" and clearly required that "it is necessary to effectively reduce the logistics costs of the whole society, enhance the core competitiveness of the industry, and improve the efficiency of economic operation."
In April this year, the Political Bureau meeting of the CPC Central Committee made important arrangements to strengthen the planning and construction of the "Six Networks". As one of the "Six Networks", the strategic value and construction progress of the logistics network have attracted increasing attention from all walks of life.
From the implementation of national logistics hubs to the full coverage of rural delivery outlets; from multimodal transport channels connecting sea and land, to precise dispatching of digital logistics platforms... In the first year of the "15th Five-Year Plan", the construction of a logistics network in which hubs and industries are closely coordinated, channels and networks are connected internally and externally, facilities and equipment are green and intelligent, and rules and information are interconnected across the region has become a key link to expand domestic demand and smooth circulation, injecting continuous momentum into high-quality economic and social development.
Connected into a network, the "network" of the real economy accelerates and unblocks
At 10:00 on July 20, accompanied by a long whistle, a container train loaded with cotton and other goods departed from the dedicated railway line of Aksu Textile Industrial City in Xinjiang and drove along the 4,910-kilometer track to Ningbo Zhoushan Port on the coast of the East China Sea. The goods are shipped out to sea and sent to many places around the world.
The "Aksu-Ningbo Zhoushan Port" sea-rail combined transport train is the first export train in southern Xinjiang that directly connects to the East China Sea. It not only complements the shortcomings of southern Xinjiang's foreign trade sea channels, but also drives the agglomeration of local industries by relying on logistics channels. The trains rush and transport goods along this steel artery that spans 6 provinces and passes through 68 railway stations. It is a vivid microcosm of my country's accelerated construction of logistics network.
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that the logistics industry is connected to production and consumption, and its position in the market economy is becoming increasingly prominent.
From the western border to the eastern coast, logistics channels closely connect production and consumption, providing solid support for smoothing the domestic circulation and building a unified national market.
Connecting rivers and seas, connecting China's interior and exterior, what kind of network is the logistics network?
Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Transport jointly issued the "Implementation Plan for Logistics Network Construction" to make systematic plans for the construction of logistics networks during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.
Li Chao, deputy director of the Policy Research Office of the National Development and Reform Commission, introduced that the logistics network is organically composed of hub nodes, backbone channels, equipment vehicles, rules and standards, information data, etc. It is a composite infrastructure system and comprehensive service network that supports the efficient flow of goods and resources throughout society, and is an important foundation for high-quality economic and social development.
Logistics, in layman's terms, is the "flow of things." my country's logistics development can be intuitively demonstrated by a set of express logistics data: more than 250,000 express delivery service networks connect more than 500,000 business outlets, 427,000 village-level comprehensive delivery logistics service stations and more than 1,300 automated transfer centers, supporting the delivery of about 200 billion express delivery items in my country every year. "Half-day delivery" and "hourly delivery" have now become "standard features" in people's daily lives.
At present, my country’s logistics network construction continues to press the “acceleration button”——
181 national logistics hubs and 105 national backbone cold chain logistics bases have accelerated their interconnection into a network, and there are more than 2,700 logistics parks above designated size... The hardware infrastructure has become more complete, and the layout of hub nodes has basically taken shape.
The construction of logistics rules and standards has been accelerated. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, our country has released 210 standards in various logistics fields; logistics public data has been accelerated to open and share, and the level of information and data connectivity has been further improved... The software system and technology have become more mature, and logistics integration and collaboration have continued to deepen.
In the first half of the year, my country's cumulative sales of new energy heavy trucks were approximately 140,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 78.6%; unmanned logistics equipment has developed rapidly, and unmanned logistics vehicles, unmanned forklifts, and "smart zero-carbon" yards have been put into operation...
The deployment has achieved results and the construction is on a large scale. In the first year of the "15th Five-Year Plan", continuing to promote the construction of the logistics system is an important decision and deployment made by the Party Central Committee with a view to accelerating the construction of a new development pattern.
"The purpose of systematically building a logistics network is to optimize the allocation of logistics resources in the whole society, accelerate the formation of network economies of scale, and further reduce the logistics operating costs of the whole society." Li Chao said.
Statistics show that the ratio of my country's total social logistics costs to GDP in 2025 is 13.9%. This is the first time that the ratio has dropped below 14% since statistics were officially established in 2006. Calculated based on the size of the economy, every 0.1 percentage point decrease in this ratio can save over 100 billion yuan in social logistics costs, bringing real financial benefits to high-quality economic and social development.
The accelerated construction of the logistics network will further connect urban and rural areas, smooth circulation, promote upgrading, and transform "channel advantages" into economic effects of "dual stimulation of consumption and production".
Breaking down regional barriers - a wide-area logistics network will open up cross-regional congestion points and allow products from the central and western regions and remote areas to smoothly connect with the national market.
Activate the potential of rural areas in counties - The construction of a complete logistics network will complement the shortcomings of cold chain, county and rural three-level logistics, and solve the problem of "difficulty in moving up" of agricultural products and "expensive" in industrial products.
Empowering industrial upgrading - the efficient operation of the logistics network will support "zero inventory", just-in-time production and supply chain collaboration in the manufacturing industry, and promote the supply side to adapt to diverse changes.
The starting trend determines the trend, and the opening determines the overall situation.
Promote the construction and interconnection of logistics hubs, improve the carrying capacity of logistics channels, make up for the shortcomings of urban and rural logistics facilities, weave a dense network of international logistics facilities, promote the digital and green development of logistics facilities and equipment, and improve the level of sharing and utilization of logistics information... During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, a series of development plans and deployments will promote the logistics network to make up for shortcomings, connect smoothly, improve energy levels, and achieve a systematic transformation from "having" to "good" and from "access" to "smooth".
"The goal is that by 2030, the construction of the logistics network will achieve significant results, effectively realize the close coordination of hubs and industries, the internal and external connectivity of channels and networks, green and intelligent facilities and equipment, and the interoperability of rules and information across the entire society, promote the effective reduction of logistics costs for the whole society, and promote the ratio of total social logistics costs to GDP to drop to 13.1%, 0.8 percentage points lower than at the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan. Better services will improve the quality and efficiency of the real economy, and support the smooth circulation and high-quality development of the national economy." Li Chao said.
Replenish the chain and strengthen the foundation to build a modern logistics system to improve quality and efficiency
"Accelerating the formation of a safe and efficient logistics network that is connected internally and externally", the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has made a series of deployments, pointing out the way forward for promoting the construction of high-quality logistics networks.
The river is flowing. As a key project of the new round of national comprehensive freight hub replenishment, strengthening and chain improvement actions, the Anhui Wuhu Port Port Service Area has fully launched the construction of container yards and supporting projects, and is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.
"The completion of this major project will further enhance the container storage capacity of Wuhu Port's Zhujiaqiao Port Area, open up intermodal transport congestion points in Anhui Province, and strengthen Anhui Province's strategic position as a hub connecting the Yangtze River Delta to the central and western regions," said Gao Dewen, deputy director of the Wuhu Municipal Transportation Bureau.
During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the construction of the logistics network will be based on the existing basis and promote the improvement and incremental construction of the facility stock.
Accelerate the development of infrastructure systems and build a more convenient and accessible logistics network——
On July 28, the Shiziyang Bridge, the main bridge of the Shiziyang Channel, successfully completed the hoisting of the loose cable saddle. The project construction continues to accelerate, injecting strong momentum into the strengthening of the backbone transportation network of the "Golden Inner Bay" in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, my country continues to promote the construction of large cross-regional and cross-basin corridors. Instead of simply “laying out the ground” and “launching projects” as in the past, we will pay more attention to optimizing spatial layout, opening up the main artery of economic circulation, and promoting balanced regional development.
Promote the construction of backbone logistics channels such as the New Land-Sea Corridor in the West; accelerate the construction of 20 international comprehensive transportation hub cities and 80 national comprehensive transportation hub cities; rely on hubs to expand international transportation routes... A modern comprehensive logistics network with multi-point interconnection, linkage of trunk and branch links, and global access is accelerating and becoming dense and strong.
Promote the upgrading of system equipment and create a greener and smarter logistics network——
At the smart sorting site of the county-level express centralized distribution center in Guangrao County, Dongying City, Shandong Province, more than 500 villages and more than 200 communities in the county have their own exclusive grids. On average, more than 150,000 express delivery items depart from here every day, allowing villagers in remote villages to enjoy convenient delivery services.
"By exploring the elimination of township transfer links, we will establish county-level centralized express distribution centers and change the three-level distribution model of 'county-town-village' to 'county-village' direct delivery." Liu Zhiheng, a member of the party group of Guangrao County Transportation Bureau, said that this has greatly shortened the express delivery cycle, and intensive operation has also reduced the cost of express delivery companies.
The intelligent transformation of the logistics industry has made up for the shortcomings of rural areas and has also improved the quality of life in cities.
In the early morning, in Bao'an District, Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, staff loaded medical supplies, e-commerce express items, etc. into the cargo boxes of drones in an orderly manner. With a low whistle, the drones took off into the sky and rushed to the distance.
Data from the Shenzhen Postal Administration shows that Shenzhen has built 9 express drone operation bases and 98 distribution sites, equipped with 246 drones, and opened 347 routes, covering Baoan, Guangming and other areas.
It’s not just Shenzhen. Mao Niannian, head of Meituan’s drone business, said that as of the end of June this year, Meituan’s drones had launched low-altitude logistics and distribution services in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and other cities, and had completed more than 1 million orders in total.
"Urban logistics and distribution are transforming from ground-based 'timeliness competition' to low-altitude 'space disruption' and air-land integration. We will more accurately match urban business flows, scenarios and user needs, and promote ourselves from 'point-to-point' to a new stage of development of 'city-level aviation network'." Mao said.
Build a solid risk prevention and control barrier and forge a safer and more reliable logistics network——
Affected by Typhoon Maysak, severe flooding occurred in some areas of Guangxi. After the disaster occurred, JD Logistics completed the shipment of the first batch of 20,000 daily necessities within 8 hours, effectively ensuring the basic needs of the affected people.
A developed logistics system makes the transportation of emergency supplies more efficient and convenient, but the circulation tests caused by extreme weather and sudden disasters also clearly show that it is urgent to build a resilient foundation for the logistics network to resist shocks and interruptions.
"In the past, our logistics network lacked resilience, especially with strong linear path dependence and high risk of single-point interruption. Now the logistics network construction we are promoting is to address these pain points to make up for the shortcomings." Gan Jiahua, deputy director of the Urban Transportation and Modern Logistics Research Institute of the Planning Institute of the Ministry of Transport, believes that the distributed network structure fundamentally reduces the impact of single-point failures in the logistics network. The smart dispatch system can provide the optimal solution in a short time after a problem occurs, and the deep integration of multimodal transportation gives the logistics network more "backup channels."
"Not putting all the 'eggs' in one 'basket' will greatly enhance the risk resistance of the logistics system." Gan Jiahua said.
Collaborative linkage, global connectivity and integration to stimulate more development momentum
In July 2025, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over the sixth meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Commission to study issues such as in-depth advancement of the construction of a unified national market. The meeting pointed out that the basic requirements for deepening the construction of a unified national market are "five unifications and one openness".
As an important aspect of the "Five Unifications and One Opening Up", "unified market infrastructure" is to open up logistics, capital flow, and information flow.
On one side is the busy operation of the orderly connection and transfer of new energy unmanned trucks, and on the other side is the construction scene of the orderly advancement of distributed photovoltaic power generation projects. Sichuan Luzhou Port, a port-type national logistics hub, is booming with the help of technology.
"Luzhou Port is the most important water transport gateway to the sea in southern Sichuan and northern Yunnan-Guizhou and the channel out of the economic hinterland. Building a port-type national logistics hub can fully unleash the advantages of low-cost water transport and a rich inbound collection and distribution network, radiate and drive the integrated development of industries in the southwest region, and help build a unified national market." Zhou Hai, director of the Marketing Department of Luzhou Port, said.
At present, the construction of my country's logistics network is shifting from the incremental expansion of large-scale expansion of points and lines to the stage of coordinated development of logistics facilities, optimization of increments and improvement of stock. The logistics network must achieve a systematic transformation from "existing" to "good" and from "accessible" to "smooth".
The total length exceeds 26,000 kilometers! During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the "golden outer ring" composed of the G219 and G331 land strategic backbone corridors along the border and the G228 coastal backbone corridor is gradually taking shape on the border of the motherland.
To the west, it can connect to the New Western Land-Sea Corridor and China-Europe freight trains, and to the east, it can connect to ocean-going foreign trade routes. From the map, this large ring line connects the country's major coastal ports and ports along the border. my country's land ports in Central Asia, Southeast Asia and other areas will be connected into a network.
"In the past, the coast was along the coast, and the edges were along the edges, and each took its own channel. Now relying on three channels to achieve sea-land linkage can further reduce cross-border logistics costs." Wang Haixing, a researcher at the Sustainable Transportation Innovation Center, a national high-end think tank, and a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, said, perfecting The road network has turned the former traffic terminal into an open frontier. Many special agricultural and animal husbandry products, understory resources, and mineral resources in border and coastal areas can be exported along the three "arteries". At the same time, more cross-border processing and border industrial parks will be introduced to better promote the development of border and coastal areas.
Looking beyond logistics, the high-quality construction of logistics networks is not only an extension of roads and warehouses, but also a strategic layout that reshapes the domestic demand landscape.
The Xiamen-Jinjiang Bridge (Xiamen Section), the largest span bridge in Fujian Province with a total length of 19.62 kilometers and a total investment of over 37.2 billion yuan, is accelerating its "growth". This super project will be opened to traffic on the main line by the end of this year. After completion, it will serve the optimization of logistics channels and promote the formation of new logistics channels.
"The Xiamen-Jinjiang Bridge (Xiamen Section) is currently the highway project with the highest single investment in Fujian Province, driving the rapid development of upstream and downstream industrial chains such as steel, concrete, and shield technology. The bridge and Xiamen Xiang'an International Airport together form a three-core driving model of 'airport + ocean + innovation', helping the southern Xiang'an area move from the 'geographic edge' to the forefront of regional economic development." said Wang Lianbin, project leader of the Xiamen-Jinjiang Bridge (Xiamen Section) of China Communications Construction Company.
Liu Wenhua, deputy director of the Logistics Office of the Comprehensive Transportation Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission's Macroeconomic Research Institute, said that precise investment in the construction of logistics network facilities and shortcomings in network operation will drive related investments in transportation, energy, information, etc., improve the comprehensive benefits of investment, and better tap the potential of domestic demand.
As one of the major infrastructure network constructions deployed in the first year of the "15th Five-Year Plan", the logistics network and the other "five networks" are interrelated and mutually supportive, and together form an organic whole of the modern infrastructure system.
“On the one hand, the function of the logistics network depends on the other ‘five networks’. For example, the superimposed waterway function of water conservancy facilities relies on the water network, green logistics relies on new power grids, and digital intelligence logistics relies on the computing power network. On the other hand, the logistics network provides for the smooth implementation of the other ‘five networks’ construction projects. The guarantee of material supply is also the main application field and scenario for other networks. "Gan Jiahua said that the "Six Networks" are making efforts in multiple dimensions such as "network integration, regional integration, and industry integration" to form a "1+1>2" empowering force by breaking down barriers and coordinating linkages.
Smooth the "network" of the real economy and accelerate efficient internal and external circulation. With the steady advancement of high-quality logistics network construction during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, regional barriers will be further broken down, commodity circulation will be more efficient, and industrial cycles will be smoother. Hundreds of business entities will release greater vitality in the free flow of factors, providing a more solid foundation for my country to accelerate the construction of a national unified market and build a new development pattern.
