The Office of the State Post Bureau recently issued a Notice on Pilot Project to "Send Express Mail into Villages" (hereinafter referred to as the Notice), and decided to launch pilot projects in 6 provinces (autonomous regions) and 15 cities (prefectures).

The 6 pilot  provinces are Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Anhui and Qinghai, and the  pilot cities include Taiyuan, Jilin, Jining, Zhumadian, Huanggang, Chenzhou, Fangchenggang, Haikou, Ziyang, Qiannan, Yuxi, Xi'an, Yan'an, Yinchuan and Hami. The purpose of this work is to develop practical, replicable and applicable experience in the development of rural express mail services in the pilot areas, promote the direct delivery of express mail to villages, basically achieving the goal of express mail direct delivery coverage to all villages wherever possible.  

The program mainly includes four parts: First, the basic network will be completed and improved. A three-tier express logistics system at the county, township and village levels will be promoted in a coordinated way, and the two-way circulation channels between urban and rural areas will clear. Direct delivery of express mail to villages will be pushed forward especially through the extension of the distribution network, upgrading the delivery routes and provision of better services. Second, the environment for development will be improved. The powers of the local authority over the terminal infrastructure of the express mail will be effectively implemented, and government investment in the development of rural express mail services will be increased. Third, the integrated development will be enhanced. Rural express mail services will be promoted to share resources and construct facilities jointly with such related sectors as the post, transportation, e-commerce, supply and marketing cooperatives. The development of rural express mail services will be coordinated with that of e-commerce. Fourth, the quality and efficiency of services will be forged. Supervision over rural express mail services will be strengthened and enterprises urged to fulfill their service commitments. The viability of rural express mail outlets will be guaranteed and the stability of rural express mail networks reinforced. Irregularities in rural express mail services will be cracked down on in accordance with the law, and market order and the legitimate rights and interests of the users will be safeguarded.

According to the Notice, the exploration of the road to rural express mail services should adhere to the principles of market-orientation, government-guidance, overall planning, innovative regulation, taking into consideration local conditions and highlighting local characteristics, and take full account of the level of economic and social development and resource endowment of the pilot areas. The Notice stresses that pilot areas should set up pilot work leading groups to carefully organize implementation in accordance with the principles and contents of the program. The pilot areas should study and formulate pilot work plans on the basis of investigating and listening to the opinions of market entities, summarize the work progress regularly, analyze the difficulties encountered in the implementation process, summarize the experience and practice, and put forward measures of improvement. At the same time, work related to "sending express mail into the villages" should be included in the performance evaluation.