On October 17, 2023, the State Post Bureau of China held a press conference to discuss the implementation of the “Express Delivery to the Countryside” initiative over the past decade and its impact on rural logistics. Lin Hu, the bureau’s spokesperson and director of the Market Supervision Department, emphasized the significant progress made in establishing a rural delivery logistics system, which contributes to smoothing out economic circulation between urban and rural areas, reducing logistics costs in the countryside, and reinforcing efforts in poverty alleviation and rural revitalization.

Since the launch of the “Express Delivery to the Countryside” program in 2014, the rural logistics infrastructure in China has developed from virtually nonexistent to a well-structured system. Through collective efforts across the industry, regulatory frameworks have been enriched, resulting in a synergistic relationship that fosters both economic and social benefits. Over the last decade, local governments have introduced relevant policies and standards that have progressively optimized the development environment for rural logistics. By the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the coverage of express service points in townships reached 98%, effectively ensuring that every county has distribution centers and every township has service points.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan, significant strides have been made towards creating an “open, inclusive, efficient, and secure” rural logistics system. According to a recent survey, as of now, China has established roughly 337,800 multifunctional rural logistics service stations, effectively expanding the “last mile” delivery service in rural areas. As part of the “Express Delivery to the Countryside” initiative, delivery companies are exploring various collaborative models while upgrading their technology and equipment. The integrated model involving “delivery + rural e-commerce + specialty products + farmers (or cooperatives)” has been widely adopted. In 2023 alone, 143 exemplary projects in modern agricultural services surpassed ten million deliveries, with 17 key projects in poverty-stricken and priority revitalization areas exceeding two million deliveries each. The bureau also plans to launch 100 demonstration zones for e-commerce and express delivery collaboration and 300 modern agricultural service projects by the end of the year.

Looking ahead, the State Post Bureau aims to deepen the development of rural logistics networks to better meet the growing delivery needs of rural residents, thereby promoting effective connections between urban and rural production and consumption. However, challenges remain, particularly in rural areas, where the express delivery network is still maturing and service capabilities lag behind the eastern regions of China. Lin Hu pointed out that to address these issues, the bureau will adopt a problem-solving approach focusing on system improvements at village service stations, enhancing delivery capabilities, and regulating service quality while fostering cooperation among companies.

He highlighted that thanks to the national rural revitalization strategy and continuous industry efforts, access to postal services in rural areas has significantly improved over the past decade. Building a robust rural logistics system will be a long-term undertaking, requiring tailored strategies and integrated resource utilization in infrastructure, transportation capacity, information systems, and technology. Lin emphasized the need to develop a new model of rural express delivery services that is efficient and convenient, ultimately leading to improved quality of life for farmers and contributing to shared prosperity between urban and rural areas. Key tasks for the future include enhancing logistics delivery capabilities, addressing service violations, and improving the sales channels for agricultural products.