Express Delivery Reaches Villages: The Finishing Touch of "Internet Plus Rural"

Without an inclusive, standardized, convenient and efficient logistics and express delivery system, it is difficult for goods and information to flow between urban and rural areas. Accelerating the development of the express delivery industry and promoting the development of rural e-commerce are mutually complementary and mutually reinforcing, and a virtuous cycle between the two will certainly become an important force for driving rural development, increasing farmers' incomes, prospering the rural economy, and narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas.

Recently, the State Council issued the "Several Opinions of the State Council on Promoting the Development of the Express Delivery Industry." The Opinions proposed that by 2020, an express delivery service system that is inclusive of both urban and rural areas, technologically advanced, high-quality in service, safe and efficient, and green and energy-saving should be basically completed, forming a service network that covers the whole country and connects internationally. This document is the highest-level policy support in the express delivery field since the revision of the Postal Law in 2009. Its introduction is of milestone significance for China's express delivery industry, especially the development of the rural express delivery industry.

China's private express delivery industry started in the 1990s. After more than 20 years of development, the express delivery industry has become a "dark horse" in China's service sector and even in China's overall economic development. According to relevant statistics, during the "12th Five-Year Plan" period, the average annual growth rate of express delivery business volume exceeded 50%. In 2014, China's express delivery business volume reached 13.96 billion pieces, 6 times that of 2010, the final year of the "11th Five-Year Plan," and directly absorbed more than 1.2 million employees. Its development achievements are remarkable.

However, a huge flaw in the development of China's express delivery industry is the imbalance between urban and rural development. The growth of business volume, the increase in express delivery outlets, and the directly absorbed employed population are mostly concentrated in cities. The reasons are many. First, most rural areas are relatively remote, road conditions are poor, and residents live scattered. For express delivery companies, whether delivering or collecting, transportation costs are too high. Second, whether for online shopping or sending letters, compared with cities, the express delivery business volume in rural areas is relatively small. These factors have made the development of the logistics and express delivery industry in rural areas slow and lagging.

This time, the Opinions issued by the State Council have two major highlights regarding the development of the rural express delivery industry that are worth anticipating. First, it clearly proposes that by 2020, basically every township should have an outlet and every village should have express delivery access, annual express delivery business volume should reach 50 billion pieces, and annual business revenue should reach 800 billion yuan. Second, it clearly proposes implementing the express delivery project of "going downward, going westward, and going outward," improving service networks in rural areas and the western region, creating two-way channels for "industrial products going to the countryside" and "agricultural products entering the cities," and sinking down to drive rural consumption. From the Opinions, it is not difficult to find that the state is strengthening its promotion of rural express delivery development at the central level, and behind this high-level promotion is the logic of the state using the "Internet Plus" strategy to activate rural economic development.

Against the background of "mass entrepreneurship and innovation," "Internet Plus Rural" has been given the major mission of activating the rural economy. To achieve this goal, efforts must be focused on promoting the simultaneous development of the "three carriages": improving the universal telecommunications service compensation mechanism, developing rural e-commerce, and promoting the development of the rural express delivery industry. At the State Council executive meeting held on October 14, a specific target was proposed for broadband telecommunications services to cover 98% of administrative villages by 2020. Four specific measures were also proposed for the development of rural e-commerce. Now, with the Opinions issued again in the name of the State Council, the strategic promotion of the last of the "three carriages" - the rural express delivery industry - has been completed. In this process, we can see that the state is advancing the "Internet Plus Rural" strategy in an orderly manner, one step at a time, and the strategic framework and logic behind it are clearly visible.

Looking ahead to the development of the rural express delivery industry, it should be said that the potential is enormous and the future is promising, because the development of the rural express delivery industry is directly linked to the consumption potential of rural e-commerce. The number of online orders placed by farmers directly determines the development potential of rural express delivery. According to the "Rural E-Commerce Consumption Report (2014)" released by the AliResearch Institute, the rural online shopping consumption market continues to expand. In 2014, the total rural online shopping market nationwide reached more than 180 billion yuan, and it is predicted to exceed 460 billion yuan in 2016. Therefore, promoting the development of the rural express delivery industry could not be more timely. To make up for the shortcomings in the development of the rural express delivery industry, it is first necessary to increase central fiscal input and guide local governments to strengthen policy and financial support. However, the government's financial resources are limited after all, and it is impossible for it to take on everything. It is also necessary to stimulate social forces to participate in construction, explore the PPP model (public-private partnership model), and mobilize the enthusiasm of various social entities. For example, Alibaba Group plans to invest 10 billion yuan within 3 to 5 years to establish an e-commerce system serving rural areas, and JD Group also plans to build a rural logistics and village agent system. For the participation of these social forces, attention must be paid to protecting their enthusiasm and guiding them in a standardized way.

For "Internet Plus Rural," the direct significance of the State Council's issuance of the Opinions is to accelerate the development of the rural express delivery industry, while its deeper significance lies in aiming to start the blue ocean of rural e-commerce. Without an inclusive, standardized, convenient and efficient logistics and express delivery system, it is difficult for goods and information to flow between urban and rural areas. Accelerating the development of the express delivery industry and promoting the development of rural e-commerce are mutually complementary and mutually reinforcing. By implementing these Opinions without deviation, we believe that a virtuous cycle between the rural express delivery industry and rural e-commerce will certainly become an important force for driving rural development, increasing farmers' incomes, prospering the rural economy, and narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas.