On 13 January 2005, Zhang Chunxian, China's Minister of Transport announced that China would build a network of expressways over the next three decades, connecting all provincial capitals and cities with a population of over 200,000 residents. The announcement introduced the 7918 network, a grid of 7 radial expressways from Beijing, 9 north–south expressways, and 18 east–west expressways that would form the backbone of the national expressway system. This replaced the earlier proposal for five north–south and seven east–west core routes, proposed in 1992.