With a population of 1.3 billion, four cities of over 9m inhabitants, eight over 2m, 22 of 1-2m, and car ownership rising at 10% pa from a current level of 5.4 per 1000 population, in the fastest growing economy in the world, China faces major challenges in planning and transport policy in general and in traffic engineering in particular. The need to establish traffic engineering policies within the wider context of planning and transport policies is particularly important in Chinese cities where the great majority of person km are currently carried by bus and bike, but where taxis and cars may already account for more than half the pcu km. It is also important because the roles of the modes may be rapidly changed by the construction of new metro networks, by the expansion of the cities and their road networks and by the growth of car ownership. This paper ignores these important wider issues and concentrates on the traffic management and engineering policies applicable in resolving the current competition for scarce roadspace between pedestrians, cyclists, moped users, buses, taxis, a great variety of freight vehicles and the increasing numbers of cars.
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