By Li Hanqing, Research Team on “The Structural Reform of Service Industry Driven by Institutional and Open-Oriented Development”, Institute of Market Economy, DRC

Research Report, No.119, 2021 (Total 6184) 2021-5-13

Abstract: Postal and express delivery industry is the key sector boosting the development of global service trade and it plays an important role in the international logistics supply chain. Although there are differences in the opening-up degree of postal and express delivery industry across the world, the general trend is that there are fewer and fewer restrictive measures and the opening-up degree is getting higher and higher. Since its entry into the WTO, China has fully fulfilled its commitments to substantially open up the express delivery service market, and has achieved remarkable results. However, compared with the average level of OECD member countries and advanced economies, the opening-up level of China’s postal and express delivery industry still has a large room for improvement. By taking into an overall account of the safe performance of international logistics supply chain, it is necessary for us to accelerate the institutional reform, build an open market for competitive businesses, give full play to the positive role of granting market access on the basis of a negative list for foreign investment, strengthen the linkage between optimizing business environment and improving customs clearance efficiency, constantly improve the opening-up level of postal and express delivery industry and cultivate a global and efficient international delivery system in a bid to keep improving China’s international competitiveness and influence in the world market.

Keywords: postal and express delivery industry, high-level opening-up, reform, OECD Service Trade Restrictions Index (STRI)