China's Mobility Transformation in a Changing World

Liu Daizong, Director of East Asia at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), spoke in his keynote address about the rapid progress towards sustainable transport in China’s major cities. China has succeeded in ensuring that almost 100 per cent of buses operating in its cities are now electric, and in recent years hundreds of kilometres of new metro lines and cycle paths have been built. However, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, public transport has seen a decline in passenger numbers in recent years. A number of current developments are aimed at countering this trend. For instance, Liu expects a breakthrough in the use of robotaxis in China’s urban centres as early as 2026. By the end of 2025, usage figures had already reached around 250,000 journeys per week – for the provider Apollo Go alone. Liu also points to various models (some more market-oriented, others more municipal in nature) that are currently being tested in Chinese cities for the organisation of ‘Mobility as a Service’. The aim is to integrate bike-sharing schemes and robotaxis more closely with public transport. Last but not least, the ITDP played a part in the World Bank’s largest-ever investment in the city of Tianjin, which was dedicated solely to the expansion of walking, cycling and local transport. Over 120 kilometres of cycle paths were newly built or improved to enhance access to metro stations. In addition, over 3,500 trees were planted and new pavements were laid.

This keynote was recorded on 10 September 2026 at the tenth edition of the #AgoraStadtgespräch, a conference of Agora Verkehrswende on the city as a hub for the transport transition.