China moves to further reduce social logistics costs

BEIJING -- China aims to cut the ratio of social logistics costs to GDP to around 13.5 percent by 2027 as the country moves to improve economic efficiency, according to an action plan unveiled Wednesday.

By 2027, the country expects to further optimize the structure of goods transportation, and strengthen the national logistics hub system and modern logistics service network, said the plan issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council.

Toward that end, efforts will be made to advance reforms in key areas of the railways and in the road freight market, boost the openness and interconnectivity of logistics data, speed up the building of a modern supply-chain system, and improve the modern commercial logistics system, it said.

China will optimize the transportation of bulk commodities, strengthen international supply chains, and foster leading enterprises of modern logistics.

The scheduling and capacity allocation mechanism for the China-Europe freight train will be upgraded, said the plan.

The hardware and activities of logistics will be further digitalized, it said, highlighting the development of new facilities like smart roads, ports and logistics hubs and parks.

The country will encourage new logistics models that integrate with the platform economy, low-altitude economy and autonomous driving, and promote the use of technologies like unmanned vehicles, boats, drones and warehouses, it noted.

Support will also be given to make logistics hubs, warehouses and transportation facilities greener, it said. Logistics packaging will be reduced in volume and made more recyclable.

China's social logistics costs stood at 13.4 trillion yuan (about $1.86 trillion) in the first three quarters of 2024, and the ratio of logistics costs to GDP was 14.1 percent, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.