新中国成立后，中国政府明确提出首先要创造一些基本条件恢复交通运输。经过3年的国民经济恢复期，修复了被破坏的交通运输设施设备，恢复了水陆空运输。1953年起，开始有计划地进行交通运输建设。在第一个、第二个五年计划和国民经济调整期间（1953-1965年），国家投资向交通运输倾斜，改造和新建了一批铁路、公路、港口码头、民用机场，提高了西部和边远地区的交通运输基础设施覆盖程度，疏浚了主要航道，新开辟了国际、国内水路和空中航线，扩大了邮政网络，增加了运输装备数量。“文化大革命”期间（1966-1976年），交通运输发展一度受到严重干扰，但设施和装备规模、运输线路仍在增加，特别是针对沿海主要港口压船、压港、压货日趋严重的局面，加快了港口基础设施建设。在此期间，管道运输也得到了发展。

　　1978年，改革开放揭开了中国经济社会发展的新篇章，交通运输步入了快速发展阶段。中国政府把交通运输放在优先发展的位置，加大政策扶持力度，在放开交通运输市场、建立社会化融资机制方面进行开创性探索，积极扭转交通运输不适应经济社会发展的被动局面。铁路实行经济承包责任制；出台了提高养路费征收标准、开征车辆购置附加费以及“贷款修路、收费还贷”等扶持公路发展的三项政策；公路、水运工程建设项目开始实行招投标制度；港口率先对外开放，海运业最早实现“走出去”；民航走上了企业化发展道路，航空运输市场开始形成；实施邮政管理体制改革，成立中国速递服务公司，恢复办理邮政储蓄业务；加大交通运输建设投资力度，吸引社会资本参与基础设施建设。1988年沪嘉高速公路通车，实现中国大陆高速公路零的突破。

Following the founding of the PRC, the Chinese government decided to create the basic conditions to restore transport. During the economic recovery period (1949-1952) damaged transport facilities were repaired, and water, land and air transport were resumed. In 1953 China began to develop transport in a planned way. During the First (1953-1957) and Second (1958-1962) Five-Year Plan periods and the economic adjustment period (1961-1965) China tilted state investment in support of transport. It renovated and built a number of railways, highways, ports and piers, and civil airports; expanded the transport infrastructure coverage in the western and remote regions; dredged major navigation channels; opened new international and domestic sea and air routes; expanded the postal network; and increased the amount of transport equipment.

During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), transport was seriously disturbed, but facilities, equipment and routes kept increasing; in view of the severe delays in unloading and transshipment, and overstocking at major coastal ports, port infrastructure construction was accelerated; and pipeline transport developed.

The reform and opening-up policy adopted in 1978 ushered in a new stage of social and economic development, bringing about the rapid development of transport. The Chinese government prioritized transport development, increased pertinent policy support, made pioneering attempts to open wider the transport market and establish social financing mechanisms, and reversed the adverse situation that transport was unable to match social and economic development.

China implemented the contract responsibility system in railway operation; issued three policies for supporting highway development, namely, raising highway maintenance fee levied on highway users, collecting vehicle purchase tax, and building highways with loans and repaying the loans with tolls. Highway construction and water transport engineering projects started to adopt public bidding. Ports were the first to be opened up to the outside world, and sea transport was the first sector to go global. Civil aviation began to operate as an enterprise, and an air transport market took shape. The postal services management system was reformed, Express Mail Service (EMS) was set up, and postal savings services were resumed. Investment in transport development was increased and non-government capital was attracted to go into transport infrastructure construction. In 1988 the Shanghai-Jiading Expressway was opened to traffic, the first expressway on China's mainland.