Chinese express deliveries up by half: postal chief

Chinese courier firms delivered around 15.6 billion express packages in the first 10 months of 2015, 46 percent more than in the same period of 2014, a postal official said on Friday.

By 2020, China is hoping that these companies will handle 50 billion express parcels annually, and generate 800 billion yuan (around 126 billion U.S. dollars) in business revenue, said Ma Junsheng, head of the State Post Bureau, during an international express conference in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province.

Despite a slowing economy, express delivery services have grown steadily in China as online shopping has gained popularity.

The industry, in which 200,000 new jobs are being created every year, has helped with the government's target of boosting domestic consumption.

Addressing safety risks in the industry, Ma urged courier companies to self-regulate and the public to inform on those that fail to act in this regard. The official called for violators to be entered onto a blacklist and punished. Endi