China's total logistics volume in the first quarter of this year reached 91 trillion yuan (about 12.74 trillion U.S. dollars), a 5.7-percent increase year on year, accelerating by 0.4 percentage points compared to the January-February period and highlighting a solid start of the sector this year, according to the data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) on Tuesday.
The overall structure of logistic demand has improved, with new growth drivers gradually emerging.
Logistics of industrial goods grew by 5.9 percent year on year, accounting for over 80 percent of the total logistics volume, maintaining its position as the main engine of growth in demand, the data showed.
"The logistics demand for industrial products, particularly in high-tech manufacturing sectors and new growth drivers such as new energy vehicles, smart manufacturing, and photovoltaic devices, has been growing at a relatively fast pace," said Liu Yuhang, director of the China Logistics Information Center.
The impact of government policies has continued to support logistics demand.
Large-scale equipment upgrades and trade-ins of consumer goods have helped sustain the growth.
In the first quarter, logistics demand for general and specialized equipment went up 9.4 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively, while demand for consumer goods like communication equipment, home appliances and audiovisual products, and furniture shot up by 26.9 percent, 19.3 percent, and 18.1 percent, respectively.
Emerging e-commerce models such as instant-delivery online retail and live-streaming sales have kept strong momentum.
In the first quarter, online retail sales of physical goods rose by 5.7 percent year on year, with a 0.7-percentage-point increase compared to the January-February period. "New business models have continued to gain momentum, driving steady growth in logistics demand. The logistics network in both urban and rural areas has been further improved, unlocking the vast potential of the rural market," said Peng Chun, deputy dean of the Department of Logistics Management at Beijing Jiaotong University.
China's logistics sector logs steady growth in Q1
China's logistics sector logs steady growth in Q1
China will roll out a series of targeted measures to stabilize investment and unlock greater space for private capital, an official said on Thursday.
Chen Changsheng, deputy director of the State Council Research Office who participated in the drafting of this year's Government Work Report, made the statement at a press briefing held in Beijing.
He noted that China will leverage the guiding role of government funding and the driving effect of major projects to shore up investment.
Total government investment this year is set to exceed five trillion yuan (about 725 billion U.S. dollars), which will come from central budget investment and local government special bonds for major national strategies and security capacity building projects and equipment upgrades. Meanwhile, 109 major projects have been planned in the draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030).
China will also stimulate investment by opening up more application scenarios for businesses.
On the traditional front, a long-term mechanism will be improved to encourage private enterprises to participate in major national projects. For emerging sectors, China will further open scenarios in biomedicine, aerospace, and the low-altitude economy.
"Low-altitude economy has developed rapidly in recent years, with sound applications seen in fields such as agriculture, forestry plant protection, as well as surveying and inspection. Going forward, we will accelerate the opening of airspace resources and streamline approval procedures for low-altitude flights. This will unlock new scenarios including low-altitude logistics and urban management. Similar new opportunities can also be found in service robots and other sectors, all of which will create new space for private investment," Chen said.
By deepening reforms to further unlock investment potential, China will ease market access in the service sector, speed up revisions to the Bidding Law and the Government Procurement Law, and advance price reforms to broaden investment access for more enterprises.
"We will see a new round of investment potential unleashed. Major projects including the national water network, a new round of power grid upgrades, new generation communication networks, and computing power networks will drive massive investment, including demand from urban development. In addition, the campaign this year to expand and upgrade the service sector and the development of emerging industries will further expand space for private investment," Chen noted.
China to take measures to boost investment, expand space for private investment in 2026: official
