Notice of the Ministry of Transport and the National Development and Reform Commission on Issuing the Action Plan for Reducing Costs, Improving Quality and Increasing Efficiency in Transportation and Logistics

People’s Governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:

With the approval of the State Council, the Action Plan for Reducing Costs, Improving Quality, and Increasing Efficiency in Transportation and Logistics is now issued to you. Please implement it conscientiously.

Ministry of Transport

National Development and Reform Commission

November 9, 2024

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Action Plan for Reducing Costs, Improving Quality, and Increasing Efficiency in Transportation and Logistics

In order to thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, give full play to the leading, basic, and guarantee role of transportation and logistics, and promote the effective reduction of logistics costs in the whole society, this action plan is formulated with the approval of the State Council.

I. General Requirements

Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will fully implement the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress and the Second and Third Plenary Sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee, fully and accurately implement the new development concept, adhere to systematic planning and key measures, market-oriented, government-guided, goal-oriented, problem-oriented, solid progress, and practical results, accelerate the structural, systematic, institutional, technical, comprehensive, and operational cost reduction, quality improvement, and efficiency improvement of transportation and logistics, and better serve the high-quality development of the economy and society. By 2027, the cost reduction, quality improvement and efficiency enhancement of transportation and logistics will achieve remarkable results, and the ratio of total social logistics costs to GDP will be reduced to about 13.5%. The main framework of the national comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network will be more complete, the networking and strengthening of infrastructure will be further promoted, the transportation structure will continue to be optimized, the national railway freight transportation turnover will increase by about 10% compared with 2023, the port container rail-water transport volume will increase by about 15% annually, and major breakthroughs will be made in the reform of the comprehensive transportation system. The promotion of multimodal transport “one order system” and “one box system” will be accelerated, the efficiency of freight organization will be greatly improved, and a group of leading enterprises with international competitiveness will be cultivated and formed. The supporting role of transportation and logistics in the construction of a modern industrial system will be more prominent.

II. Improve the adaptability with industrial development and promote structural cost reduction, quality improvement and efficiency enhancement

1. Accelerate the construction of the national comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network. Focusing on networking, network supplementation and chain strengthening, moderately advance the planning and construction of the main framework of the national comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network. Implement railway freight network projects, improve conventional railway networks and heavy-duty railways, continuously optimize multimodal transport systems such as “west coal to east”, “north coal to south”, and “north grain to south”, and strengthen the capacity building of Xinjiang coal export channels. Study and promote the interconnection project of inland waterway transport system, accelerate the construction of “four vertical, four horizontal and two networks” national high-grade waterways, tap the traffic potential of trunk waterways such as the Yangtze River and the Pearl River, accelerate the construction of the Pinglu Canal, and accelerate the preliminary work of the second phase of the Jingjiang River section in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the second phase of the Yangtze River Estuary South Channel Channel Management Project. Support about 30 cities to carry out the construction of national comprehensive freight hubs to supplement and strengthen the chain.

2. Deepen the adjustment and optimization of transportation structure. Organize and carry out key projects to optimize transportation structure. Accelerate the promotion of railway dedicated lines into port yards, logistics parks, and industrial and mining enterprises. In principle, new and relocated logistics parks, industrial parks, industrial and mining enterprises, and grain reserves with an annual transportation volume of more than 1.5 million tons of bulk goods should be connected to railway dedicated lines or pipelines. Vigorously develop river-sea transport, water-to-water transshipment and “bulk-to-container” transport, and support the establishment of rail-water transport and river-sea transport organization service centers. The proportion of major coastal ports using port access railways, waterways, closed belt corridors, and new energy vehicles to transport bulk goods exceeds 80%. Encourage the development of zero-emission freight fleets. Standardize the charging behavior of all links in multimodal transport. Promote the reduction of construction and use charges for railway dedicated lines, shorten the construction approval time, and establish a professional and diversified railway dedicated line operation and maintenance mechanism.

3. Promote the integrated development of transportation, logistics and industry. Optimize the layout of transportation and logistics infrastructure, support the efficient connection and deep integration of transportation and logistics with advanced manufacturing, modern agriculture, strategic emerging industries, etc., and promote the integration and innovation of logistics supply chain. Formulate and improve the transportation service guarantee measures for new energy vehicle power batteries, energy storage batteries, and large-capacity photovoltaic batteries, improve the layout of new energy vehicle port roll-on/roll-off terminals, and actively expand the transportation of new energy vehicle container ships and multi-purpose ships. Accelerate the improvement of the transportation service guarantee system for bulk materials such as energy, ore, building materials, and grain, and build a number of bulk cargo mixing and unloading transit bases based on major ports, important ports, and railway logistics centers.

III. Promote efficient connection of all links and promote systematic cost reduction, quality improvement, and efficiency increase

4. Promote the innovative development of the “one bill system” for multimodal transport. Study and formulate multimodal transport management systems and “one bill system” technical standards, and promote the connection of rules such as transshipment and handover, cargo delivery, information interconnection, and insurance claims between various modes. Study and establish a multimodal transport bill management system, support the electronic application of documents, and promote the property rights of multimodal transport documents in the fields of international land-sea transport and cross-border railway transport. Deepen the improvement and expansion of multimodal transport, and accelerate the cultivation of about 30 multimodal transport enterprises with cross-regional connectivity and full-process control capabilities. Establish a full-time guarantee mechanism for railway freight, and promote the operation of passenger trains and direct services. Innovate high-speed rail express, double-decker container trains, and multi-unit express trains. Create about 20 cases of branded rail-water transport routes.

5. Establish and improve the multimodal transport system of domestic trade containers. Formulate and improve the standard system of domestic trade containers, and promote the matching and connection of multimodal transport facilities and equipment. Encourage the construction of domestic trade container pick-up and return points, improve the technical standards of container management services, and promote the circulation and sharing of domestic trade containers. Accelerate the connection and mutual recognition of industry standards for classification, loading and safety inspection of rail-water transport goods, and promote the development of the “one-box system” of multimodal transport. Support qualified enterprises to carry out domestic and foreign trade container transportation on the same ship, and promote the two-way operation mode of import and export of container foreign trade internal feeder lines. Accelerate the promotion and application of unitized logistics vehicles such as standard pallets and turnover boxes (baskets) and their circulation and sharing.

6. Smooth the terminal circulation network of urban and rural logistics. Optimize and improve the urban freight service network, study and promote medium-sized vans dedicated to urban distribution, reasonably set requirements for truck traffic areas, routes, and time periods, and encourage the cancellation of restrictions on the traffic of new energy urban distribution trucks below light weight. Vigorously develop new models such as joint distribution and warehouse and distribution integration, and study and promote the integration of railway freight stations into the urban logistics system. Solidly promote “express delivery to factories” and “express delivery to villages”. Accelerate the integrated development of rural passenger, freight and mail services, vigorously promote the adaptation of vehicle models, support qualified county and township passenger stations to expand freight logistics service functions, and jointly build and share village-level comprehensive convenience service stations. Improve the cold chain logistics facilities at the production site and vigorously develop cold chain logistics for agricultural products.

7. Improve the service guarantee capacity of international logistics supply chain. Accelerate the construction of international transport corridors such as the Trans-Caspian Sea, and cultivate stable international multimodal transport routes. Improve the bilateral and multilateral international road transport agreement system in the China-Europe direction, promote the connection of the China-Europe direct express transport channel, continue to expand the scope of application of the International Road Transport Convention, and improve the customs clearance efficiency of border ports. Promote the integrated development of ports, shipping and trade of the “Silk Road Shipping”, and accelerate the construction of the Western Land-Sea New Corridor and the Air Silk Road. Accelerate the construction of the China-Europe Express train assembly center and optimize the China-Europe Express train operation plan.

IV. Build a unified national transportation and logistics market and promote institutional cost reduction, quality improvement and efficiency increase

8. Continue to deepen reforms in key areas. Deepen the reform of the comprehensive transportation system, promote the reform of the railway system, and promote the market-oriented reform of railway freight. Establish and improve the coordination mechanism between the local railway network and the national railway network, and optimize the management rules for railway connection, crossing and clearing. Increase support for air cargo airspace time resources. Optimize the air cargo security inspection process and innovate the assembly model. Actively develop commercial applications such as drone delivery. Coordinate the development of non-toll roads that reflect the government’s universal service, mainly ordinary roads, and toll roads that mainly expressways. Deepen the implementation of differentiated expressway tolls.

9. Improve the level of market rule of law and standardization. Establish and improve a hierarchical and classified differentiated supervision model based on credit evaluation. Improve the joint law enforcement, information sharing and joint punishment mechanism for truck production and modification, increase the supervision and inspection of truck consistency, consolidate the responsibilities of vehicle inspection and testing, and severely crack down on fake license plate trailers. Steadily carry out the governance of extra-long flatbed semi-trailers and extra-long container semi-trailers. Study and formulate a network freight operation and management system to strengthen joint supervision.

10. Improve the efficiency and convenience of port customs clearance. Encourage the development of international transit, cargo consolidation, and domestic and foreign trade on the same ship services. Promote the construction of smart ports, strengthen cross-departmental linkage between customs, border inspection and other port inspection units and transportation units, and promote new customs clearance models such as “joint inspection, one-time release”. Promote the docking of testing and certification rules between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao, and mutual trust and recognition of results, deepen the implementation of the non-convention ship security inspection and investigation mechanism between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao, and promote international cooperation in inspection and quarantine and ship electronic certificates with more countries and regions.

V. Accelerate the cultivation of new momentum and promote technical cost reduction, quality improvement and efficiency increase

11. Accelerate the interconnection and sharing of multimodal transport information. Formulate a multimodal transport data sharing list, promote business entities to strengthen data exchange and sharing, steadily promote the development and utilization of public data resources in transportation and logistics, and form a sustainable development model. Formulate a unified national list of relevant electronic certificates and application management specifications in the field of transportation, and accelerate the promotion of “cross-provincial handling”.

12. Accelerate the innovative development of transportation and smart logistics. Accelerate the construction of smart highways, smart waterways, smart ports, smart hubs, etc., and promote the digital transformation and upgrading of transportation infrastructure. Accelerate the pilot of access and passage of intelligent networked (autonomous driving) vehicles. Coordinate and strengthen the coordination and connection of smart logistics standards in transportation. Promote the demonstration and application of autonomous driving and unmanned vehicles in key areas such as the Yangtze River Delta and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in an orderly manner.

13. Vigorously improve the green level of technical equipment. Study and carry out transportation tests of double-trailer car trains. Promote the application of new energy medium and heavy-duty trucks according to local conditions, and plan and build special battery swap stations. Promote the construction of a number of charging piles, battery swap stations, and charging parking spaces in highway service areas. Accelerate the improvement of the cleanliness level of vehicles and ships in ports, airports, logistics parks, etc., and accelerate the large-scale and standardization of water transportation equipment. Deepen the pilot of comprehensive electrification of vehicles in urban public areas. Promote the establishment of carbon asset management and carbon emission accounting mechanisms in the field of transportation and logistics. Support the research and development and promotion of high-speed rail logistics equipment. Accelerate the implementation of large-scale equipment renewal actions in transportation.

VI. Strengthen the guarantee of factor resources and promote comprehensive cost reduction, quality improvement and efficiency increase

14. Continue to promote tax reduction and fee reduction in transportation and logistics. Continue to implement the pilot of network platform road freight transport enterprises to issue special value-added tax invoices on behalf of others. Pilot enterprises can issue special value-added tax invoices on behalf of qualified small-scale road freight taxpayers. Promote the full coverage of electronic invoices in the logistics field. Continue to implement various tax and fee preferential policies that have been issued. Standardize the business behavior of container yard enterprises, and strictly investigate and punish unreasonable charges by taking advantage of their advantageous position.

15. Increase the supply of land and sea resources for transportation and logistics. Strengthen the guarantee of land, sea and island elements for key projects such as logistics channels, comprehensive hubs, railway dedicated lines, ports and terminals. Support the supply of land for transportation and warehousing and logistics in the form of long-term lease or lease-before-sale, or a combination of lease and sale. Support the planning and construction of expressway transit freight stations and logistics centers near qualified expressway entrances and exits. Encourage the expansion of express delivery, sorting and urban distribution services based on urban railway stations, highway passenger stations, and urban bus terminals.

16. Increase financial policy support. Give full play to the role of the unified registration and publicity system for movable property financing and the national financing credit service platform, and guide various financial institutions to increase financing support for transportation and logistics enterprises. Encourage financial institutions to enrich financial products and services in the field of transportation and logistics, and carry out movable property pledge loan business such as accounts receivable and order warehouse receipts.

VII. Support enterprises to improve operational efficiency and promote cost reduction, quality improvement and efficiency increase

17. Improve the supply chain management level of transportation and logistics enterprises. Deepen the integrated innovation and development of logistics supply chains such as people’s livelihood consumption, automobile manufacturing, and cross-border e-commerce. Accelerate the cultivation of platform-based and comprehensive logistics supply chain service enterprises, and improve service capabilities such as multimodal transport, inventory management, distribution and delivery, and customs clearance. Organize and carry out special pilot projects for transportation and logistics cost reduction, quality improvement and efficiency improvement, and transportation power construction.

18. Build innovative international leading enterprises. Improve the logistics service capabilities in professional fields such as engineering logistics, pharmaceutical cold chain, and dangerous goods, and build a group of professional and refined transportation and logistics enterprises. Support international transportation and logistics upstream and downstream enterprises to strengthen strategic cooperation and accelerate the pace of “going out”.

All regions and departments should strengthen organizational leadership, improve work mechanisms, form policy synergy, and earnestly do a good job in reducing costs, improving quality and increasing efficiency of transportation and logistics in accordance with the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. The Ministry of Transport should work with relevant departments to improve the work mechanism, strengthen coordination and cooperation, strengthen the linkage between the ministry and the province, promote the implementation of various tasks, and report major matters in a timely manner.