Focusing on smart transportation, intelligent agriculture, and the sports industry! The "Minister's Channel" releases industry signals

On March 9th, the second session of the 14th National People’s Congress held a focused interview activity on the “Minister’s Channel.” Ministers Liu Wei of the Ministry of Transport, Han Jun of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Gao Zhidan of the General Administration of Sport discussed topics such as smart transportation, agricultural digital transformation, and the development of the sports industry and ice and snow economy, highlighting achievements and upcoming key tasks.

Liu Wei: Promoting the Application of New Energy Vehicles, Ships, and Other Clean Energy Transportation Equipment

Liu Wei stated, “During the 14th Five-Year Plan,” efforts will be made to promote zero-carbon transportation corridors and station construction, and vigorously expand the use of new energy vehicles, ships, and other clean energy transportation equipment.

He introduced that during the 14th Five-Year Plan, China made breakthrough progress in building a comprehensive transportation system. In terms of infrastructure, the main framework of the national integrated three-dimensional transportation network, including “6 axes, 7 corridors, 8 channels,” has exceeded a 90% completion rate; in transportation services, key indicators for passenger, freight, and postal services remain among the world’s top, with port container throughput accounting for about one-third of the global total, and last year’s express delivery volume exceeded 200 billion pieces, maintaining the top position globally for 12 consecutive years; in technological equipment, modernization levels have significantly improved, with the domestically produced C919 large passenger aircraft safely carrying over 4 million passengers, and automated terminals leading globally in scale, quantity, and technological level.

Liu Wei said that during the 15th Five-Year Plan, efforts will focus on deep integration across regions, modes, and fields. In travel, a project to improve intercity commuting efficiency in metropolitan areas will be implemented, significantly increasing the proportion of the population in urban agglomerations with one-hour commuting conditions; in logistics, a multimodal transport breakthrough campaign will be carried out to unblock bottlenecks and improve the one-hour transfer rate of multimodal transport.

Key initiatives include the “Artificial Intelligence+” action, vigorously developing smart transportation. Liu Wei mentioned that during the 15th Five-Year Plan, the scale application of AI in typical scenarios such as highway inspection will be promoted, along with the development of smart highways, smart ports, and intelligent shipping.

Liu Wei emphasized that transportation is a key sector for carbon emissions, accounting for about 10% of the national total. During the 15th Five-Year Plan, driven by “carbon peaking” and “carbon neutrality,” efforts will be made to promote zero-carbon transportation corridors and station construction, and to expand the application of new energy vehicles, ships, and other clean energy transportation equipment.

He added that the Ministry of Transport will accelerate the development of the “15th Five-Year Plan” transportation plan and ensure the implementation of key tasks.

In terms of travel services, this year will see the cultivation of service brands such as silver-haired trains, scenic area direct buses, and domestic air express lines, along with the comprehensive improvement of small and micro vehicle rental networks. Efforts will be made to promote passenger through-transportation, innovate services like air-rail and land-air intermodal transport, and realize “one ticket purchase, one payment, one pass.” The safety of holiday travel will be prioritized by strengthening risk assessment, addressing bottlenecks, and making travel safer and smoother.

Liu Wei stated that this year, efforts will be made to improve charging infrastructure starting from small details. Currently, coverage of charging facilities at service areas nationwide has reached 98.8%. The focus will be on increasing high-power charging capacity to alleviate issues like difficulty finding charging stations and long queues. Simultaneously, aging-friendly facilities will be improved, especially by retrofitting public toilets at service areas to better accommodate elderly users, increasing the proportion of sit-down toilets to over 20%, and solving inconvenience issues for seniors. Additionally, efforts will continue to improve services for truck drivers.

He said that during the 15th Five-Year Plan, the promotion of high-quality development of “Beautiful Countryside Roads” will remain a major task, with greater focus on maintenance and operation of rural roads, and stronger efforts to promote integrated development of rural passenger, freight, and postal services.

Han Jun: Accelerating the Renewal of Crop Varieties in the Next Phase

Han Jun stated that after years of effort, especially since the implementation of the rural revitalization action since 2021, China has achieved the use of mainly Chinese varieties for “Chinese grains,” with domestically secured key varieties for vegetables, livestock, and aquatic products, and cultivated a batch of high-yield, high-quality, and multi-resistant breakthrough varieties. The next step will be to accelerate the renewal and upgrading of crop varieties.

He introduced that during the 14th Five-Year Plan, China’s agricultural technological equipment conditions have significantly improved, and agricultural modernization has entered a new stage. The contribution rate of agricultural science and technology progress exceeds 64%, coverage of good seed varieties exceeds 96%, and the comprehensive mechanization rate of planting, cultivation, and harvesting of crops has reached 76.7%, with major grain crops fully mechanized in planting and harvesting.

Han Jun mentioned that agricultural digital and intelligent transformation is accelerating, with various smart equipment playing a prominent role in production. Last year, over 300,000 drones were used in agriculture, serving 460 million mu of farmland. Currently, smart harvesting robots, smart irrigation robots, AI laser weeders, and other equipment are beginning to be used in agriculture.

He emphasized the need to improve the quality and efficiency of agricultural development, enhance post-harvest processing and processing levels of agricultural products, and carry out grading and quality evaluation. Efforts will be made to address shortcomings in cold chain logistics and storage preservation, and to promote breed improvement, quality enhancement, brand building, and standardized production.

He also stressed the importance of developing modern animal husbandry and fisheries, developing facility agriculture and under-forest economy according to local conditions, and expanding the forestry and grassland industries. Building a diversified food supply system to better meet the diverse, personalized, and differentiated needs of the Chinese people.

Gao Zhidan: Accelerating the Formulation of Policies to Further Promote the Development of Sports Events Economy

Gao Zhidan stated that the sports industry has vast development space and potential. The General Administration of Sport will adhere to policy guidance, accelerate the research and formulation of policies to further promote the sports events economy, and develop outdoor sports plans, deeply integrating experience economy, and promoting the coordinated development of business, tourism, culture, and fitness.

He introduced that in recent years, public enthusiasm for participating in sports activities has continued to rise, and the sports industry and consumption have been heating up. According to statistics, by 2025, the proportion of the population regularly exercising nationwide will reach 38.5%, with per capita sports consumption among residents aged 19-59 approaching 2,500 yuan, a 38% increase since 2020. Events like the “Scottish Premier League” have become popular, vividly demonstrating the resilience and huge potential of the sports industry and sports consumption.

Meanwhile, the quality and efficiency of sports services and sports equipment manufacturing have significantly improved, with the scale of the sports industry steadily growing and achievements increasingly fruitful. Since the 14th Five-Year Plan, the total scale and added value of China’s sports industry have grown at an average annual rate of 8.8% and 10.5%, respectively.

Gao Zhidan said that after the Beijing Winter Olympics, the goal of “engaging 300 million people in ice and snow sports” has been continuously consolidated and expanded. During the 2024-2025 winter season, the number of residents participating in ice and snow sports will reach 292 million, and the entire industry chain of ice and snow sports, culture, equipment, and tourism will achieve leapfrog development. In 2025, the total scale of the ice and snow economy will surpass one trillion yuan for the first time, vividly embodying the concept that “ice and snow are also gold and silver mountains.”

He stated that efforts will be made to enrich sports event offerings, orderly introduce high-level international competitions, increase the cultivation of independent brand events, promote healthy development of domestic professional leagues, and expand sports activities for youth and the general public. Foundations will be strengthened by accelerating the development of relevant standards in the sports industry and increasing professional talent training to lay a solid foundation for high-quality sports industry development.

(From China Securities Journal)