Express companies are ready to deliver years of rapid growth

China is likely to become the world's largest market for express services this year, lifted by the e-commerce boom and fast rural infrastructure development, a top official said.

Ma Junsheng, director-general of the State Post Bureau of China and a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, said the government will support domestic delivery enterprises as they move to set up more service points in county-level markets and continue to expand in the nation's vast western regions.

China is the second-largest market for express services, behind the United States. Last year, more than 7,500 express companies were operating in China, compared with 5,327 in 2010.