China aims to extend its rural road network from 3.45m km to 3.9m km by 2015, said the country’s transport authorities. The aim is to ensure all townships and 90 per cent of villages are accessible by vehicles, said the Vice Minister for Transport, Feng Zhenglin.

By the end of 2010 around 1,200 townships and 120,000 villages still had no sealed roads connections, 90 per cent of which were located in western regions and other poor areas, according to Li Shenglin, Minister for Transport.

More than Rmb30bn will be spent on the construction of rural roads in 2011, Li added, and the focus will be on improving road quality, instead of just quantity.