Chinese delivery companies show stronger competitiveness in global market

Packages are stocking in a delivery company in Zhejiang, ready to be delivered. [Photo: meldingcloud.com.cn]

Official stats suggest China's express delivery sector has been showing strong growth over the past few years and has become a major contributor to the county's economic growth.

Chinese delivery companies are also working to improve their services to increase their competitiveness in the global market.

CRI's reporter Guo Yan has the details.

Official stats from the State Postal Bureau show business volumes in the delivery sector in China have contributed 40 percent to the growth of the global delivery industry. 

Liu Jun, deputy chief of the State Postal Bureau, notes over 20 billion parcels have been delivered from January to July this year, a 30 percent increase from the same period last year.

"I can say, almost all stats and figures suggest delivery volumes are maintaining high growth momentum, especially in the second quarter. The sector is now at a stage where a hundred million deliveries are handled every day."

While delivery volumes have tripled over the past five years in China, the industry is now faced with a transition to improve its quality and efficiency to meet the increasing demands of its customers. 

Wang Zhenhui, CEO of JD Logistics, notes his company is now moving into the unmanned vehicle sector to try to beef up its efficiency.

"Over the past two years, we've focused on the research and development of unmanned equipment. We have launched drone delivery services in the cities of Xi'an and Suqian. The drones have been in regular operation since June. We've also we launched self-navigating vehicles at certian colleges to provide delivery services. Beyond this, Artificial intelligence, big data and Cloud technology is also being applied to help improve services. "

Lu Junfeng, vice president of Suning Logistics, is floating the idea of joint industry collaboration in certian areas to overcome their current challenges.

"The establishment of an ecosystem is a major challenge for all of us in both the urban and rural areas. In the cities we are faced with traffic problems and fierce competition. In the countryside, it's often difficult to expand our services to remote locations. We hope to establish a system, together with our peers in the sector, to improve the delivery service network that can cover the last mile. "

Chinese authorities are promising to provide more support for state-owned railway companies and civilian airlines to get into the delivery sector by encouraging more investment into the postal delivery industry.

Express delivery companies in China have already overtaken their US counterparts in terms of total deliveries annually, making China the "express delivery capital" of the world.

For CRI, this is Guo Yan.