China has issued its “15th Five-Year Plan for Integrated Transport Service Development (2026–2030)”, calling for greater integration, digitalisation and green transition of transport services. A central element is an end-to-end, integrated and resilient freight and logistics service system, intended to reduce logistics costs while improving service quality and efficiency.
By 2030, the plan aims to establish a modern integrated transport service system, including multi-tiered passenger travel services and resilient, end-to-end logistics services.
By 2035, it envisages a modern transport system, actualising the “National 123 Travel Circle” and “Global 123 Express Logistics Circle”. The latter aims to deliver freight within one day domestically, within two days to neighboring countries and within three days to major cities worldwide.
Key 2030 indicators
No. | Indicator | 2025 | 2030 |
1 | Share of multimodal transshipment operations completed within one hour at key integrated freight hubs (%) | — | 90 |
2 | Container volume under the “single-container system” for rail-water intermodal transport (10,000 TEUs) | 750 | 1000 |
3 | Share of new energy heavy-duty trucks in the total fleet (%) | 4 | 20 |
Key components of the plan
The plan covers integrated transport, efficient logistics, digital, green and safe freight development, international connectivity and industrial governance. The sections below describe selected measures related to these areas.
Promoting coordinated and integrated transport development
The Plan promotes freight integration and rural connectivity. For multimodal freight, it targets key freight hubs and aims to enhance their multimodal transport functions through hub-specific measures. It also calls for a national multimodal e-waybill platform with harmonised rules.
For rural passenger–cargo–postal integration, proposed measures include county–township–village service nodes and converting passenger stations into combined stations. The plan also proposes linking these services to e-commerce and specialty-agriculture supply chains.
Promoting efficient logistics development
The plan includes measures to reform road freight and reduce logistics costs. These include improving market entry and exit rules and coordinating fuel prices on online freight platforms. It also proposes organisational changes, such as “expressway interchange + logistics park” models, joint urban distribution and drop-and-hook operations.
For specialised freight, measures include services for dangerous goods and oversized cargo, and high-speed rail freight. The plan also proposes innovation in transport organisation, supply-chain cooperation with manufacturers, and airside forward cargo stations to reduce costs. Its measures for logistics integrators include supply-chain integration, land–sea networks and technology platforms.
Enabling digital and intelligent transport
The plan applies digitalisation and emerging technologies to freight transport. It proposes unmanned warehouses and ports, intelligent loading, and full-lifecycle container tracking. It also calls for AI-based supervision of passenger and dangerous-goods vehicles, as well as risk assessment for international road transport.
Proposed applications of autonomous driving include pilots in logistics and express delivery, heavy-truck platooning, and unmanned freight transport. The plan also aims to expand low-altitude freight and related operations.
Advancing green and low-carbon development
The plan aims to shift to cleaner modes of transport and equipment. Measures include shifting freight from road to rail and water on major corridors, and extending railway branch lines to ports and logistics parks. The plan also calls for zero-carbon corridors, wider deployment of new energy heavy-duty trucks, and the phase-out of China-IV and older trucks.
Implications
Overall, the plan sets out targets and measures intended to develop a more efficient, multimodal, lower-carbon and resilient freight and logistics system. Its proposed measures combine infrastructure and service integration with digital applications, changes in freight organisation and cleaner vehicle technologies.
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