China approves trans-Pacific cable project

A map shows a 14,000-kilometer trans-Pacific submarine cable system which will directly connect China and the United States. The project has been approved by the National Development and Reform Commission. [Photo/xinhuanet.com]

China's top economic planner has given the green light to building a 14,000-kilometer trans-Pacific submarine cable system which will directly connect China and the United States.

China's big three communications carriers - China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile - will jointly fund and construct the fiber optic project together with companies from other countries and regions, the National Development and Reform Commission said.

The New Crossing-Pacific Cable System, or NCP, is designed to ease the increasingly congested telecommunications connection between China and the US with a total capacity of 60 terabytes per second after it goes into operation in 2018.

The fishbone-shaped project will land on Chongming and Nanhui in Shanghai, Taiwan and also connect with South Korea and Japan.