The Chinese government has always taken the construction of highways as one of the important components of speeding up the construction of infrastructure facilities. In the three years from 1998 to 2000, its investment in this respect was more than 200 billion yuan each year. In 2001, the total investment in infrastructure construction in transportation was over 260 billion yuan, and 32,000 km of highways were built, including 3,017 km of expressways. By the end of 2001, the length of highways open to traffic throughout the country reached 1,698,000 km, including 19,000 km of expressways. Meanwhile, the state has speeded up the construction of highways in poverty-stricken areas, and great improvements have been made in the highways reaching central and western China. The nation?s highway density has reached 17.7 km/100 sq km.
