Opinion

Accelerating digital and intelligent applications to reduce logistics costs

Logistics plays a foundational and supportive role in building a modernized industrial system. The level of logistics costs directly impacts corporate operations, market prices, and competitiveness. The State Council recently convened an executive meeting to review the implementation of actions aimed at effectively reducing overall social logistics costs. It emphasized the need to promote the digital and intelligent development of logistics and continuously drive cost reduction, quality improvement, and efficiency enhancement in the sector.

In recent years, China has adopted a series of reform and innovation measures to lower costs in the logistics industry. With the continuous improvement of transportation networks, infrastructure, and optimization of transportation modals, certain bottlenecks have been gradually addressed. In 2024, overall social logistics costs were reduced by over RMB 400 billion, with transportation costs accounting for approximately RMB 280 billion of these savings.

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed to pursue smart, green, and integrated development, and a modernized industrial system should be developed with advanced manufacturing as the backbone. As an industry with foundational, pioneering, and strategic importance in the national economy, the transportation sector plays a crucial role in providing smooth, efficient, and low-cost logistics services. All parties should strengthen cooperation, establish coordinated development mechanisms, jointly reduce logistics costs, and promote high-quality economic and social development.

Policy

1. On November 16, Xingyin Financial Asset Investment Co., Ltd. was inaugurated, becoming the first joint-stock bank financial asset investment company in China. The company will support technology innovation enterprises and private businesses in optimizing their capital structures and reducing leverage ratios.

2. On November 17, the National Medical Products Administration issued the opinions on deepening cosmetic supervision reform and promoting high-quality industrial development, proposing 24 reform suggestions and 48 specific reform measures to inject strong momentum into the sustained and healthy development of the cosmetics industry.

3. China has launched a program aimed at enhancing the integrated development of the human resource services industry alongside key manufacturing sectors. The initiative designates 39 pilot cities to carry out the program, with the goal of fostering synergy in development that will drive job creation and stimulate growth within the manufacturing industry. The pilot cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Changsha, span nearly all provincial-level regions across the country, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Data

1. The total import and export value of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region reached RMB 3.91 trillion in the first ten months of this year, according to Beijing Customs data. The region's total export value reached RMB 1.2 trillion from January to October, marking a 5.6 percent year-on-year increase and setting a historic peak for the period.

2. China has completed the first phase of its 6G technology tests, accumulating a portfolio of more than 300 key technologies, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. China's 6G technology has entered the international standards research phase and is expected to commence commercial deployment around 2030.

3. The 27th China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF), running from November14 to 16 in Shenzhen, China's Guangdong Province, attracted more than 5,000 enterprises and international organizations from over 100 countries and regions. The exhibition featured the release of over 5,000 new products, technologies and innovative solutions.

4. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the value added of equipment manufacturing industries above the designated size increased by 9.5 percent year on year from January to October. With emerging demands in areas such as the digital economy and platform economy, and rapid development of new industries, China's new growth drivers were cultivated and expanded.

5. The 17th Cross-Strait Tea Industry Expo was held on November 16 in Wuyishan City, Fujian Province. This year's expo attracted over 850 participating enterprises, including 173 companies from Taiwan.

6. China has prioritized support for cultivating nearly 200 distinctive labor service brands in formerly impoverished areas. Some skilled workers employed through labor services of these brands have doubled their income.

7. According to customs statistics, in the first 10 months of this year, the total import and export value of China's central and western regions reached RMB 6.68 trillion, with foreign trade growth rate continuing to outpace other regions.

8. A notice to enhance the synergistic development of China's cocoon and silk industry across regions was jointly released by the Ministry of Commerce and six other departments on November 17, aiming to foster the innovation capacity in the east region and the production capacity in central and western regions. It is expected that the national total output value of the cocoon and silk industry will exceed RMB 300 billion by 2028.

9. China's postal industry saw a total of 177.25 billion parcels handled in the first ten months of this year, marking a 14 percent rise from the same period in 2024, according to the State Post Bureau. Among them, the express delivery sector handled 162.68 billion parcels during the same period, representing a 16.1 percent year-on-year increase.

10. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's 400 modern agricultural industrial parks approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Finance have taken the lead in establishing modern agricultural industrial systems. With leading industries growing in scale and quality, the total output value of these parks exceeded RMB 3 trillion.

(Source: Economic Daily)