Consumer demands drive recording-breaking deliveries

China's booming express delivery sector surpassed the 100-billion-parcel mark on June 30, achieving the milestone nine days earlier than the previous year, the State Post Bureau of China announced on Saturday.

The pace highlights the resilience of the country's postal and express delivery sector, which has become closely integrated with consumption, manufacturing, agriculture and cross-border trade. China handled 198.95 billion express parcels in 2025, up 13.6 percent year-on-year, maintaining its position as the world's largest express delivery market.

Liu Jiang, director of the strategic planning research department at the Development and Research Center of the State Post Bureau, said the sector's expansion has been supported by policies aimed at boosting consumption.

"Since the beginning of this year, China's pro-consumption policies have continued to take effect. The consumer market has maintained steady growth, and the consumption structure has continued to improve, driving further expansion of the express delivery market," Liu said.

The changing pattern of online consumption is evident at a ZTO Express outlet in Qiantang district, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, where automated sorting equipment kept parcels moving in orderly streams following the recent June 18, or "618", online shopping festival.

Zhu Shuai, manager of ZTO's Dajiangdong outlet, said the site usually handles about 36,000 inbound and outbound parcels a day. During this year's mid-year "618" online shopping festival, daily volumes climbed to more than 70,000 parcels.

"In the past, major promotions created a single traffic peak. Now the peak lasts longer and comes in several waves," Zhu said. "It feels like we're always busy, but at a more manageable pace."

The sector is also expanding its international reach. In Thailand, SF Express has opened a new export channel for durians through Chiang Mai International Airport, allowing individual parcels of the fruit to be shipped directly from production areas to overseas consumers.

Unlike the traditional model, which relies heavily on Bangkok, the new route links fruit-growing areas with Chiang Mai's aviation hub.

According to SF Express, the service integrates collection, customs clearance, air transport and last-mile delivery in China, providing growers and exporters with a more flexible cross-border logistics solution.

The project also uses the Abu Dhabi-Chiang Mai-Shenzhen route to better utilize return cargo capacity, demonstrating how Chinese express delivery companies are leveraging international air networks to facilitate cross-border agricultural trade.

Beyond rising parcel volumes, regulators and companies are also pursuing greener and more standardized development.

Lin Hu, director of the market supervision department of the State Post Bureau of China, said postal authorities have promoted green procurement at the source, recycling and reuse at the delivery stage, standardized frontline operations and broader public participation.

"More consumers are noticing the changes: express cartons are thinner, tape is narrower, waybills are smaller and reusable packaging is becoming more common," Lin said. "Low-carbon and intelligent delivery is reshaping consumers' lifestyles," he added.