China Development Bank has said that it issued over 200 billion yuan (about 29 billion U.S. dollars) in loans to finance the construction of railway infrastructure in 2025.

The number represented a year-on-year rise of 27.8 percent, the state-owned policy bank said, noting that it prioritized China's advance in the construction of the high-speed railway network last year.

The bank said that the balance of loans for rail projects exceeded one trillion yuan for the first time last year.