China cuts $14 bln in logistics costs in 2017

BEIJING - China cut logistics costs by 88.16 billion yuan ($14 billion) last year as part of an effort to relieve the burden on businesses.

Li Xiaoming, vice minister of transport, announced the figure at a press conference Wednesday, saying it surpassed the annual target by 13 percent. The reduction came from lower toll fees, cancellation of compulsory tests for commercial vehicles, and lower service fees on shipping companies.

The ministry will roll out more measures to ensure reductions for this year exceed that in 2017, Li said, citing differentiated toll fees and railway-shipping coordinated transport.

Although they have dropped over the past several years, China's logistics costs remain high and accounted 14.9 percent of GDP in 2016, well above 8 to 9 percent in major developed countries.

Cutting business costs is a major task in the country's supply-side structural reform.