China's logistics sector grows steadily in H1

BEIJING - China's logistics industry posted steady growth in the first half of this year, an industry report showed.

The total value of social logistics goods in H1 grew 6.1 percent year on year to 139.5 trillion yuan (about $20.3 trillion), according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).

The growth rate was down 0.8 percentage points and 0.3 percentage points from the same period last year and the first quarter this year, respectively, according to the CFLP.

In the first six months, total logistics costs came in at 6.6 trillion yuan, up 8 percent year on year. Transportation costs rose 7.4 percent year on year to 3.4 trillion yuan.

China has made huge progress in reducing logistics costs, seeing cost cuts of 98.1 billion yuan last year, up from 55.8 billion yuan in 2016.

The Ministry of Transport vowed to reduce logistics costs by 120.9 billion yuan in 2019, and establish a logistics service system in line with the country's high-quality growth over the next three years.