以1997年4月中国铁路第一次大提速为起点，中国铁路建设逐渐进入了快速发展阶段，成为中国经济高速平稳运行的重要象征。发展才是硬道理，江泽民始终把发展作为执政兴国的第一要务。他提出的一系列兴国方略，为跨世纪的中国规划了发展布局，创新了发展方式，拓展了发展空间，储备了发展动力。
Beginning with China's first major railway speed-up in April 1997, railway construction entered a phase of rapid development and became an important symbol of the economy's high-speed, steady operation. Development is the absolute principle; Jiang Zemin always treated development as the Party's top priority in governing and rejuvenating the country. The series of strategies for national rejuvenation he put forward mapped out the layout of development for China at the turn of the century, innovated the mode of development, expanded the space for development, and built up reserves of momentum.
