China's logistics sector has continued to show strong improvement in efficiency in the first quarter of this year, with the ratio of social logistics costs to GDP standing at 14.1 percent, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points year on year, according to the official data released on Tuesday.
The total social logistics cost for the period amounted to 4.5 trillion yuan (about 620 billion U.S. dollars), according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.
Experts attribute the improvement in logistics costs to the enhancement in logistics infrastructure and the widespread adoption of multimodal transportation systems.
In the first quarter, investment in key logistics infrastructure continued to rise, with investment in the water transportation sector surging by 25.9 percent year on year, and fixed asset investment in national railways increasing by 5.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the synergy between sea and rail transport has become more evident.
"This multimodal transport system has effectively boosted transportation efficiency. The coordinated upgrade of both water and land infrastructure has further strengthened the transportation structure, providing strong support for reducing logistics costs and improving efficiency," said Peng Chun, deputy director of the Department of Logistics Management at Beijing Jiaotong University.
In the first quarter, the logistics industry's total revenue reached 3.3 trillion yuan (about 455 billion U.S. dollars), marking a five percent year-on-year growth, which was 0.2 percentage points higher than the January-February period.
Logistics business revenue of key surveyed logistics companies also showed positive growth, increasing by six percent year on year, with a 0.4 percentage point improvement compared to the January-February period.
In addition, many logistics companies are driving cost reductions and boosting efficiency through the implementation of intelligent solutions, management upgrades, and other innovative measures.
China's logistics sector reports strong efficiency 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
