China’s highway network development in the “new normal”

DOI: 10.35595/2414-9179-2025-1-31-198-215

View or download the article (Rus)

About the Authors

Alexandr I. Korobko

Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Department of Socio-Economic Geography,
29s4, Staromonetny ln., Moscow, 119017, Russia,
E-mail: akorobko9994@gmail.com

Ksenia V. Mironenko

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography,
1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119991, Russia,
E-mail: kenimzury@yandex.ru

Nikolay A. Sluka

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography,
1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119991, Russia,
E-mail: sluka2011@yandex.ru

Abstract

The article analyzes the intermediate results of the implementation of China’s national highway network development 2013–2030 plan taking place in conditions of a noticeable decline in economic growth rates, denoted by the concept of the “new normal”. The theoretical basis of the study is the principles of frame and network approaches. Data from statistical yearbooks of provinces taken for 2014 and 2022 for units of the second level of administrative-territorial division of China (prefecture) constitute the factual base of the study. To assess the geographical features of the highway network, 2 groups of statistical indicators were used. The first includes basic dimensional indicators of districts, the second includes data on the length of different classes of highways. Based on the calculations carried out, a system of map diagrams was built. The results of the study make it possible to compare the level of highway network development in China’s regions at the beginning and end of the period, to identify groups of leading and outsider regions, and to draw conclusions about the reasons for the existing spatial differences. The study showed that as a result of active construction during the period under review, a positive trend of development level of highways network is observed in almost all districts, on the one hand, but on the other hand, a pronounced spatial disproportion along the Hu Line remains. The most densely populated and economically developed southeastern part of the country is characterized by an almost completed framework of highways and a closed network of the first and second class roads, and the larger area of northwestern part predominantly agricultural and with its harsh natural conditions is characterized by an unfinished framework, typical for areas of pioneer development. The border districts of Altai and Ngari, located in the far west of the country, have the maximum values of the complex Engel coefficient. The development strategy of the highway network in China takes into account not only strengthening the overall connectivity of the territory and reducing regional imbalances, but also has an important social orientation.

Keywords

highway networks, prefectures in China, the period of the “new normal”

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For citation: Korobko A.I., Mironenko K.V., Sluka N.A. China’s highway network development in the “new normal”. InterCarto. InterGIS. Moscow: MSU, Faculty of Geography, 2025. V. 31. Part 1. P. 198–215. DOI: 10.35595/2414-9179-2025-1-31-198-215 (in Russian)