China has established the world's largest express delivery network in terms of scale and beneficiary population during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), with annual parcel delivery volume surging from tens of billions to hundreds of billions, according to data from the State Post Bureau.
Official data revealed that over the past five years, China's postal and courier service capacity has continuously improved. Annual business revenue grew from 1.1 trillion yuan (about 157.51 billion U.S. dollars) to 1.8 trillion yuan (about 257.74 billion U.S. dollars), with an average annual increase of over 10 percent, ranking among the top in the modern service sector.
Meanwhile, the annual parcel delivery volume rose from over 80 billion to nearly 200 billion items, with the per capita figure rising from 59 to 141.
"During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China built the world's largest delivery network in both scale and user coverage. The network has further expanded into rural areas, while the international network now reaches all major global economies. The share of express business revenue and volume in central and western regions increased by 5.4 and 7.5 percentage points, respectively, in the national total," said Liu Ying, spokeswoman for the State Post Bureau.
Over the past five years, the postal and courier industry in China has accelerated its shift toward intelligent operations. Most large-scale sorting centers now run automated systems, and technologies including cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) models are being widely deployed for demand forecasting, smart warehouse, and route planning.
China's postal and courier sector now leads the world in integrated transport efficiency, informatization and organizational capabilities, service coverage, and cost-effectiveness, cementing China's position at the forefront of global logistics.
China builds world's largest express delivery network
China builds world's largest express delivery network
The Republic of Korea (ROK) government led by Lee Jae Myung is moving away from a value-centered diplomacy grounded in a strong alliance with the U.S. toward a more pragmatic China policy based on national interests, which is a welcome change, a ROK professor said.
Lee concluded his first four-day state visit to China on Wednesday after taking office in June 2025, signaling a renewed effort to deepen ties between the ROK and China as the two sides signed a series of cooperation agreements reflecting mutual interests in strengthening economic and diplomatic relations.
Moon Chung In, a professor of Yonsei University and former special advisor to the ROK president for unification, security and foreign affairs, said the incumbent ROK administration is betting on pragmatic diplomacy to navigate the storm of a volatile geopolitical landscape.
"President Lee Jae Myung has been championing pragmatic in our diplomacy based on national interest, not on value. He rejects the whole 'Manichean' [view of a] dualism of good and evil in doing foreign policy. And also he emphasized the importance of seeking truth from facts. China is near and powerful and very prosperous. Therefore, we have to maintain very good relations with China," he said.
Moon believes Lee's pragmatic diplomacy will guide his administration to manage relations with neighboring countries from a practical, national interests-based perspective.
"He has been pursuing the policy of strategic empathy. He always wanted to put himself in other's shoes so that we can have a better understanding, so that we can avoid misunderstanding while building trust with each other. I think that is the kind of approach he has undertaken since his inauguration. Therefore, from his pragmatic diplomacy point of view, China is a very, very important partner for South Korea," he said.
Lee seeks to brand himself and his administration as centrist and pragmatic, representing a significant departure from former ROK President Yoon Suk Yeol's value-based diplomacy.
"I would say there's a kind of paradigm shift in our foreign policy, getting away from the blind obsession with value while pursuing the maximization of national interest through mutual respect. That is one of the fundamental changes in foreign policy of South Korea. Therefore, in this sense, Lee Jae Myung's foreign policy is very well taken," Moon said.
ROK shifts away from value-based diplomacy toward pragmatic China policy: professor
