BEIJING — China will speed up the construction of charging piles for new energy vehicles at expressway service areas, the Ministry of Transport said on April 26.

The country has built 13,374 charging piles at over 3,000 expressway service areas, said Zhou Rongfeng, an official with the ministry, at a press conference.

Compared to the more developed eastern regions in the country, the western and the northeastern parts still lag behind in terms of charging pile coverage at the service areas, Zhou said.

The ministry will work with other government departments to improve the infrastructure and build a network of both fixed and mobile charging facilities along the expressways, Zhou said.