China meets annual railway investment targets

BEIJING - China met its annual targets on increasing railway investment in 2017 as the authorities continued to promote railway construction.

China spent 801 billion yuan ($123 billion) on railway projects and put 3,038 km of new tracks into operation in 2017, meeting its annual targets of 800 billion yuan of investment and 2,100 km of new lines, according to the China Railway Corporation.

By the end of 2017, total mileage of China's railways in operation reached 127,000 km. Among the total, high-speed railways rose to 25,000 km from 22,000 km at the end of 2016.

The growth of railway construction projects came at a time when the country is enduring continuous deceleration in the growth of fixed-asset investment.

In the first 11 months of 2017, fixed-asset investment grew 7.2 percent year-on-year, down from 8.3 percent during the same period of 2016.

China will invest steadily in transport development this year, flat with 2017, Minister of Transport Li Xiaopeng said in late December, citing the main transport target for 2018.

In the coming three years, transport will play a bigger role in eradicating poverty and achieving greener, safer development, according to Li.