Express delivery sets new record but still has room for progress

China's express delivery services have handled a record 100 billion parcels so far this year－compared with 50.71 billion parcels in 2018,63.52 billion in 2019 and 83 billion in 2020.

According to real-time monitoring data from the State Post Bureau, China has ranked top in express delivery volume for eight consecutive years now.

According to Chen Kai, deputy director of the State Post Bureau, the booming express delivery industry has helped boost the online retail of physical goods, and agricultural and manufacturing products, and helped expand cross-border e-commerce.

The sector is booming not only because of the rapid development of e-commerce, the efficiency of express delivery enterprises and their innovation capacity, but also due to the strong support the sector receives.

While raising employment, tax revenue and boosting economic growth, the express delivery industry has played an important role in supporting online consumption, increasing farmers' incomes and the development of the manufacturing industry. The sector creates more than 200,000 jobs every year, playing an important role in national economic growth. The volume of China's express packages already exceeds that of the United States, Japan and Europe combined.

That the annual express delivery volume has exceeded 100 billion pieces indicates the sector now functions with great efficiency.

However, there are still some problems to be addressed. Recently, an elderly man died suddenly while going downstairs to collect his parcel, even though the regulation demands that express delivery employees deliver "parcels upstairs". The "last-mile" hurdle has triggered online discussions.

At a recent virtual symposium for express delivery enterprises, Ma Junsheng, director of the State Post Bureau, said the unbalanced development of the express delivery industry is becoming increasingly visible. The sector is huge in scale but not high in quality, he said, adding that it has developed at a rapid pace but still lacks advantages in certain areas.

How to regulate the employment in the sector and protect employees' legitimate rights and interests is another key unresolved issue.

The booming growth of this sector means it has a bright development future, but greater efforts are needed to improve its service quality and promote its high-quality development.