China Plans 27,000-Kilometer Outer Highway Ring Under 2030 Transport Plan

China is accelerating the construction of its national stereoscopic transport network, aiming to increase the completion rate of its primary framework from 91% to 95% by 2030, according to the Ministry of Transport. A central highlight of the strategy is a 27,000-kilometer 'Golden Outer Ring' created by connecting three major national highways along China's northern border, western frontier, and coastline. During the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan period, officials will focus on upgrading existing infrastructure and closing key structural gaps across border, coastal, riverine, and cross-bay transit corridors.

Connecting China's peripheral highways into a continuous 'Golden Outer Ring' while expanding major cross-regional corridors enhances supply chain resilience, strengthens border region economies, and advances national spatial integration targets ahead of 2030.

China aims to increase the completion rate of its national comprehensive transport network's core framework from 91 percent to 95 percent by 2030, according to information released at a State Council Information Office press briefing reported by People's Daily. To achieve this target, transport authorities are prioritizing four major categories of strategic transit corridors designed to strengthen the country's economic and logistics backbone. A centerpiece of the strategy is a continuous 27,000-kilometer overland ring road known as the 'Golden Outer Ring.' According to Li Meng, deputy director of the Technical Committee at the Ministry of Transport's Planning Research Institute, this ring is formed by connecting three major national highways end-to-end: National Highway G331 along the northern frontier (spanning approximately 9,200 kilometers from Dandong, Liaoning to Altay, Xinjiang), G219 along the western border (spanning roughly 10,000 kilometers from Kanas, Xinjiang to Dongxing, Guangxi), and G228 along the coastline (stretching 7,400 kilometers from Dongxing back to Dandong). Beyond the peripheral loop, the national plan outlines three additional corridor categories. First, access routes connecting Xinjiang and Tibet are being prioritized to bolster logistics resilience and regional stability, featuring projects such as the Ya'an-Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, eastern and western sections of the Xinjiang-Tibet Railway, and expanded routes for transporting coal out of Xinjiang. Second, the Western Land-Sea New Corridor aims to enhance the hub function of the Beibu Gulf international gateway port. Third, cross-waterway links—including the Shanghai-Ningbo cross-sea channel and the Shiziyang channel—will reinforce connectivity across major river basins, bays, and urban agglomerations. Planners note that infrastructure construction during the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan period will transition to a phase defined by optimizing new additions while enhancing existing assets. For the Golden Outer Ring alone, transport officials anticipate building or upgrading roughly 7,400 kilometers of road network, with immediate priorities focusing on challenging terrain segments such as the G219 Zhaosu-Wensu section and the G228 Quanzhou Baiqi channel.