On July 12, the national development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of transport issued the national highway network plan (hereinafter referred to as the plan), which defined the layout plan of the national highway network by 2035, with a total scale of about 461000 kilometers, further strengthening the support for the development of urban agglomerations and Metropolitan areas. Zhou Xiaoqi, deputy director of the infrastructure development department of the national development and Reform Commission, said at a press conference on the same day that national highway construction will continue to play a key role in stimulating effective investment and provide strong support for stabilizing the overall economic situation. Since the reform and opening up, China has successively issued four national trunk highway plans, the last of which was the national highway network plan (2013-2030) issued in 2013. Zhou Xiaoqi said that compared with the 2013 version of the plan, the total scale of the plan has increased by about 60000 kilometers, including about 26000 kilometers of national highways and about 34000 kilometers of ordinary national highways. According to Zhou Xiaoqi, from the perspective of the future construction demand of national highways, according to the rough calculation, there are still about 28000 kilometers of sections to be built in national highways, another 30000 kilometers of busy sections need to be expanded and reconstructed, and about 110000 kilometers of ordinary national highways need to be constructed and reconstructed. The construction task in the future is still heavy. National highway construction will continue to play a key role in stimulating effective investment and provide strong support for stabilizing the overall economic situation. Wangsongbo, deputy director of the comprehensive planning department of the Ministry of transport, also pointed out that the plan gives full play to the basic supporting role of highway transportation in the development of the real economy and strengthens the integrated development of national highways and related industries. Relying on the national highway network to develop the channel economy, we should pay attention to the deep integration and development of tourism, manufacturing, logistics, e-commerce and other related industries along the line, and promote the smooth operation of the industrial chain and supply chain. (Xinhua News Agency)