Approved by the State Council, the 2017 World Transport Convention (WTC2017) was held from June 4 to 6, 2017 in Beijing. With the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) being the host, WTC2017 was organized by the China Highway and Transportation Society (CHTS) in cooperation with other transport organizations both in China and in other countries.

With the implementation of the “Belt & Road” Initiative, coordinated development of integrated transportation modes, and the global technical exchange and integration, further development of transportation systems in China requires China to better engage with other countries in the world. The World Transport Convention (2017) focused on promoting science and technology of transportation systems, developing consensus among stakeholders, and building an international platform for collaborations and innovations.

Under the theme of “Green and Integrated Development through Innovations”, the Convention kicked off by the opening ceremony and keynote speeches, followed by a wide spectrum of activities such as technical sessions (in both podium presentation and poster presentation format), special forums, technology exhibits, College Bridge Design Competition (2017) award ceremony, and other special events. Altogether, there were approximately 1,300 technical presentations being delivered in 220 sessions.

Since the preparation work that was initiated in June 2016, a large number of people have made various efforts to craft the inaugural World Transport Convention (2017). We would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone at every level for steering, sponsoring, organizing and co-organizing the convention, including the 20 international organizations. We deeply appreciate the hard work of the Chairs and Co-chairs of the WTC Divisions, Sections, and Committees, as well as the committee members of more than 500 committees at various levels and more than 530 paper reviewers. We also want to thank the hard work of more than 4,000 domestic and foreign authors for the 1820 manuscripts submitted to WTC. Our thanks also go to more than 200 domestic and foreign companies for making the technical exhibits possible. Last but not least, we are deeply in debt to the more than 100 volunteers for their selfless contributions. With joint efforts, the preparation for the World Transport Convention (WTC2017) at various stages has been completed successfully. We believe that the convention will provide a world-class platform for transportation researchers and professionals in terms of nurturing innovations, leading innovations, displaying innovations, and implementation innovations.