Factbox: Highlights of China's thriving logistics sector

BEIJING, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's logistics sector has produced robust performances in recent times, mirroring warming consumption demand and firmer economic dynamics.

Let's have a look at some of the highlights generated by the country's logistics sector.

-- The courier sector was predicted to see its annual delivery volume reach 132 billion parcels in 2023, up 19.5 percent year on year, according to the State Post Bureau.

-- On Dec. 4, 2023, a parcel consisting of flowers sent from Kunming to its buyer in Chengdu became China's 120 billionth express mail of the year, setting a new record in terms of its annual express delivery volume.

-- The 120 billion parcels of this period of 2023 amounted to 63 percent of the world's total in 2022, and was 5.5 times, 13.3 times, and 23.5 times that of the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom, respectively.

-- On Dec. 8, 2021, China's courier sector reached the landmark of handling 100 billion parcels in one year or less for the first time, and it has since taken increasingly less time every year for the country's parcel volume to surpass the 100 bln mark. This milestone fell on Dec. 1 in 2022 and on Oct. 23 in 2023.

-- China's annual average logistics performance index stood at 51.8 percent in 2023, above the boom-bust line of 50 percent and 3.2 percentage points higher than the previous year, data from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) showed.

-- The December 2023 index reading grew 0.2 percentage points month on month to reach 53.5 percent, with most of the sub-indices in expansion territory, indicating that this robust trend of the logistics sector is likely to extend into 2024, according to the CFLP.

-- China's e-commerce logistics index averaged 110.1 points in 2023, 4.2 points higher than 2022, and during the annual "Double 11" online shopping spree about 7.51 billion packages were sent across the country from Nov. 1 to 16, 2023, representing 30.9 percent growth year on year.

-- The infrastructure that supports China's logistics sector has also been improved. Currently, the country has over 400 express delivery logistics parks, more than 3,000 distribution centers and about 278,000 village-level express delivery stations.

-- Consistent pursuit of innovation is also an important contributor to the booming logistics sector. In November 2023, transport orders related to equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing sustained rapid growth, up by 9.8 percent and 6.2 percent year on year, respectively, data revealed.

-- Green energy-related logistics activity remained considerable as well. In November 2023, logistics demand in the new energy vehicle and solar cell sectors increased sharply, with their growth rates above 35 percent year on year.