China's highway mileage will surpass the United States in three years following completion of the ongoing construction boom, said Li Shenglin, Minister of Transport, on Sunday.

Despite the global financial crisis, the country's fixed-asset investment on transportation development topped 1.13 trillion yuan (US$165.4 billion) in 2009 which contributed 0.5 percentage points to GDP growth, Li said during his discussion with deputies of the National People's Congress (NPC) from Hunan Province.

By the end of 2009, China had 65,000 kilometers of highways, the second longest only to the United States, which has more than 80,000 kilometers.

Li also acknowledged that China still lags behind the United States in terms of road quality, management and network construction.

(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2010)