Upgrades to rural roads, bridges aid poverty work

Ministry sets 2018 goal for revamp that will connect thousands of villages

China has set a goal to renovate 180,000 kilometers of rural road and 2,500 dilapidated bridges next year, to help lift people out of poverty and ensure better living standards, the Ministry of Transport said on Tuesday.

"It is one of 12 missions to fulfill the people's needs in 2018," Wu Chungeng, a ministry spokesman, said at a news conference in Beijing.