China to lay 1.3 million kms of roads by 2020 to help PLA: Pentagon

TIL Desk/World/Beijing/ China has planned to construct about 1.3 million kilometers of roads and 26,000 kilometers of expressways by 2020 to bolster its military’s ability to mobilise more expediently across greater spans of the country, the Pentagon has told the US Congress.

The Chinese rail network has about 100,000 kilometers of track, 10,000 kilometers of which is high-speed track supporting trains running at up to 250 kilometers per hour, the Pentagon said in its 2019 ‘China Military Power’ report.

Beijing is initiating infrastructure projects and targeted funding allocations, it said. “Future transportation network improvements will bolster the People’s Liberation Army (PLA’s) ability to mobilise by moving higher numbers of units more expediently across greater spans of the country,” it said.

The PLA is the world’s largest standing army. “China expects to build about 1.3 million kilometers of roads and 26,000 kilometers of expressways by 2020,” the Pentagon said in its report to Congress.