China Daily:

We noticed that delivery delays and congestion occurred in many places some time ago. What measures has the State Post Bureau taken to respond to this and what is the specific situation like now? Thank you. 

Chen Kai:

Thank you for your questions. As you mentioned in your questions, couriers in some cities have been getting infected since mid-December last year. Some distribution centers and outlets could not operate normally due to labor shortages, which affected parcel handling and delivery. At the same time, due to the decline in circulation efficiency, the delivery efficiency of some outlets and related terminals was affected, resulting in partial backlogs. As we all know, the courier sector is a typical network economy. If one link is affected, it will spread to the whole network. We noticed that delivery was slow some time ago. In response to this, the State Post Bureau has paid close attention, made all-out efforts to remove obstacles in the postal and courier sector and focused on daily scheduling, careful deployment and smoothing terminal circulation to ensure the efficient operation of the postal express network. We have done our work in the following four aspects:

First, we strengthened network operation guarantees. We urged delivery firms to assume their social responsibility, asking them to minimize service interruptions caused by out-of-service outlets and minimize operational disruption due to the reduced efficiency of front-end collection to ensure the smooth running of the postal express network to the greatest extent. Delivery enterprises have also formulated work programs and emergency plans according to epidemic developments specific to different regions and stages to allocate staff scientifically and ensure the regular operation of staff on duty to the maximum extent. 

Second, we ramped up efforts to replenish the workforce. We guided delivery enterprises to ensure consignment in key areas, in key links, and of essential materials. They increased employee attendance and strove to maintain the service capacity through regional adjustment, temporary reassignment of management personnel, recruitment of temporary workers, and speeding up the return to work. 

Third, we ensured the health and safety of delivery workers. We have guided local postal administrations to actively seek resources from local governments to provide greater support to the industry in terms of vaccines, antigen test kits, medicines, and N95 masks. We've also instructed them to speed up distribution to ensure the effective protection of frontline express delivery workers. Localities like Shanghai and Jiangsu have offered subsidies to those on duty on the frontline.

Fourth, we accelerated the handling of backlogged packages. We have urged relevant companies to improve resource allocation, coordinate personnel, and speed up the handling of backlogs, while making sound preparations for potential package increases. We have guided company headquarters to formulate incentive policies to support terminal outlets in speeding up package flow. We have also encouraged terminal outlets to increase working capacity and effectively handle backlogged packages. These policies include increasing working efficiency, optimizing delivery routes, extending service time, and offering delivery services during night hours.

We have seen that, through continuous efforts in the previous stage, 94.9% of delivery workers nationwide had resumed work as of yesterday, the number of backlogged packages had sharply dropped, and express delivery services had effectively resumed. In the first five days of this year, the daily express delivery volume reached 370 million packages on average, up 16.7% compared with the same period last year. Going forward, the State Post Bureau will continue to mobilize the whole industry to consolidate work achievements and strengthen the foundation for stable industrial operation, do its best to ensure smooth delivery, and effectively meet the needs of the people for delivery services.

We will further urge relevant enterprises to increase their package handling efficiency according to the changing epidemic situation in different regions, and urge companies to increase their efforts to properly handle complaints and appeals and effectively resolve related problems and disputes, so as to meet the people's needs for delivery services. Thank you.