During China’s 14th Five-Year Plan period, the country’s express delivery volume has surpassed 200 billion parcels, contributing more than 60 percent to global express delivery growth. The data were released on Wednesday at the 2026 National Postal Work Conference held in Beijing by the State Post Bureau of China.
According to the figures, revenue from China’s postal industry rose to 1.8 trillion yuan during the period, registering an average annual growth rate of over 10 percent, ranking it among the top performers in the modern service sector. The average number of express deliveries per capita increased to 141 parcels annually, while the highest single-day delivery volume reached 777 million parcels.
Zhao Chongjiu, Director of the State Post Bureau, said that postal connectivity and service efficiency in rural and border regions have improved significantly. The number of service outlets has increased 1.5 times compared with five years ago, and postal services now cover all border villages. He noted that regions such as Xizang (Tibet) and Xinjiang have effectively ended the era of paid shipping for e-commerce parcels.
Over the past five years, a large number of express sorting centers have adopted automated operations, while the scale of unmanned warehouses has continued to expand. The use of unmanned vehicles and drones has increased substantially. Technologies such as cloud computing and large-scale AI models are being rapidly applied in demand forecasting, intelligent warehousing, route planning and other areas. As a result, China’s postal and express delivery sector continues to maintain a world-leading position in overall transportation efficiency, information integration, service scale and cost-effectiveness.
Zhao further stated that in 2026, China’s postal industry will accelerate the promotion and application of unmanned delivery technologies, intelligent operations and green technologies, while enhancing the capacity and quality of international postal and logistics services.
Source: Tuhina–Hashim–Swarna, China Media Group.