In 2017, China Construction machinery market welcomed a bumper year with a surge in growth, Excavators 、 Loaders 、 Bulldozers 、 Road rollers and other product categories all showed significant growth. According to statistics, domestic excavator sales in 2017 hit a new high in the past five years, with 25 main engine manufacturing enterprises included in the statistics collectively sold 140,303 units of excavating machinery products, a year-on-year increase of 99.5%. It was an inspiring year, and also a sweet reward after enduring hardships.

　　Looking back at this year, the strong driving force of infrastructure construction investment remained the primary factor for the growth of the construction machinery industry. Whether it was the implementation of railway, highway, and water conservancy investments, the continuous advancement of investment strategies such as the Belt and Road initiative, or urban rail transit, new type of urbanization and other investment releases, all provided strong support for the growth of the construction machinery industry. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to November 2017, national fixed asset investment (excluding rural households) reached 57,505.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.2%.

　　The development of the construction machinery industry is inseparable from the support of national policies, and even more so from the stimulation of infrastructure investment. Let's review the achievements of infrastructure investment in 2017 and understand the investment tone of the year.

XCMG high-end large-scale milling machine assists in Nantong national highway major repair project

　　 Belt and Road strategy continues to advance Overseas contracting drives exports

　　From January to November 2017, China's overseas contracted projects completed a business volume of 134.4 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 1.6%; new contract value reached 209.92 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 9.1%.

Sany equipment supports the commencement of Malaysia East Coast Rail Link

　　From January to November 2017, Chinese enterprises made new investments in 59 countries along the Belt and Road route, totaling 12.37 billion US dollars, accounting for 11.5% of the total during the same period, an increase of 3.2 percentage points year-on-year. In 61 countries along the Belt and Road route, new overseas contracted engineering contracts amounted to 113.52 billion US dollars, accounting for 54.1% of the total during the same period, a year-on-year increase of 13.1%; completed business volume was 65.39 billion US dollars, accounting for 48.7% of the total during the same period, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%.

　　Among them, from January to November 2017, overseas contracted projects drove commodity exports of 13.73 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%. In this, construction machinery, as important construction equipment, occupied a significant share.

　　 Railway investment completed 801 billion yuan 49 feasibility study projects approved

　　In 2017, national railway fixed asset investment reached 801 billion yuan. Projects such as Baoji-Lanzhou High-Speed Railway, Xi'an-Chengdu High-Speed Railway Xi'an to Jiangyou section, and Shijiazhuang-Jinan High-Speed Railway were successively put into operation, with a total operational mileage of 3,038 kilometers. By the end of 2017, China's railway operating mileage reached 127,000 kilometers, including 25,000 kilometers of high-speed railways, and the railway operating mileage in the central and western regions (including the three northeastern provinces) reached 97,000 kilometers. According to a relevant official from China Railway Corporation, 49 new projects planned for 2017 have had their feasibility studies approved, and 35 projects have started construction. Important progress has been made in the construction of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-Speed Railway, the adjustment of railway layout planning for Xiong'an New Area, and the railway hub planning for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei core area, laying a foundation for subsequent engineering construction.

LiuGong equipment inspection team braves rain for maintenance strongly supports China-Laos Railway construction

　　According to the Three-Year Action Plan for Major Transport Infrastructure Projects, there are a total of 22 key railway projects to be promoted in China in 2018, with a total construction mileage of 8,203 km and a total investment of 697.4 billion yuan.

　　Highways and waterways are expected to complete 2.27 trillion yuan in investment

　　In 2017, transportation's role in promoting investment, consumption, and stable growth was significant. In the highway and waterway sector, an estimated 2.27 trillion yuan was invested for the entire year, with 285,000 kilometers of new and renovated rural roads; railway operating mileage reached 125,000 kilometers, including nearly 24,000 kilometers of high-speed rail; total highway mileage reached 4.77 million kilometers, of which expressways reached 136,000 kilometers; inland waterway mileage reached 127,000 kilometers

Road construction, maintenance

　　From January to November 2017, the total passenger and freight volume across society reached 17.09 billion people and 42.98 billion tons respectively; express delivery volume and business revenue reached 40 billion pieces and 495 billion yuan respectively.

　 　Water conservancy investment of 717.6 billion yuan implemented 16 major water conservancy projects newly commenced

　　According to Economic Daily, in 2017, China's reform of the water conservancy investment and financing system continued to deepen, with 717.6 billion yuan of water conservancy investment implemented, setting a new historical record. The annual central water conservancy investment plan completion rate reached 94%, of which major water-saving and water supply projects had a completion rate of 95.2%, and general projects had a completion rate of 92.9%. In 2017, 16 new major water-saving and water supply projects commenced construction in China. As a result, 122 of the 172 major water-saving and water supply projects identified by the State Council have started construction, with an ongoing investment scale exceeding 900 billion yuan.

Water conservancy ditch dredging project

　 　Real estate development investment 9,338.7 billion yuan

　　From January to November 2017, national real estate development investment was 10,038.7 billion yuan, a nominal year-on-year increase of 7.5%, with the growth rate down 0.3 percentage points compared to January-October. Among them, residential investment was 6,867 billion yuan, an increase of 9.7%, with the growth rate down 0.2 percentage points. Residential investment accounted for 68.4% of real estate development investment.

Real estate, shantytown construction

　 　In 2017, construction began on 6.09 million units in national shantytown renovation projects

　　In 2017, construction started on 6.09 million units in various shantytown renovation projects nationwide, successfully completing the annual target and achieving an investment of 1.84 trillion yuan.

　　The 2017 government work report stated that tens of millions of people in urban areas still live in shantytowns with rudimentary conditions, and renovations must continue. In the first 10 months of this year, the national target of starting construction on 6 million shantytown renovation units set at the beginning of the year had already been completed.

　　 53 cities in mainland China have started construction of urban rail transit

　　China's urban rail transit is developing rapidly. As of the end of June 2017, 31 cities in China have opened urban rail transit operating lines, with a cumulative operating mileage of 4400 kilometers, leading the world in total mileage. In the first half of 2017, Shijiazhuang opened urban rail transit, and currently there are 53 cities under construction, with a total scale of 5770 kilometers of lines under construction. In 2016, China's total investment in rail transit was 384.7 billion yuan, with a 4-year compound growth of 21.1%. In the first half of 2017, China's rail transit operating mileage reached 440 billion, and by 2020, China's rail transit operating mileage will reach 7700 kilometers.

Construction machinery participating in rail transit construction

　　As of the end of June 2017, 31 cities in China have opened urban rail transit operating lines, with a cumulative operating mileage of 4400 kilometers, leading the world in total mileage. In the first half of 2017, Shijiazhuang opened urban rail transit, and currently there are 53 cities under construction, with a total scale of 5770 kilometers of lines under construction.

　　 Sponge city construction sets off a boom

　　2017 is an important time point for the nationwide rollout of sponge city construction, with the central government intensively issuing policies on sponge city construction, and various regions launching a boom in sponge city construction.

　　As of April 2017, pilot projects for underground utility tunnels have started construction for 738 kilometers, with an investment of approximately 40 billion yuan completed. Pilot projects for sponge city construction have built an area of 420 square kilometers, with an investment of approximately 54.4 billion yuan completed. A total of 370 cities nationwide have proposed special plans for sponge city construction.

Surprising acceleration in infrastructure investment

　　As an important carrier of "Green China" and a key goal for strengthening urban planning, construction, and management during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, sponge cities have huge investment potential in the future. According to statistics, by 2020, the cumulative investment scale for sponge cities is expected to reach 1.9 trillion yuan, and by 2030, it is expected to reach 7.6 trillion yuan.