Japan Post to Beef Up Ties with Chinese Post Agency

Japan Post said Tuesday it has agreed to step up cooperation with China’s State Postal Bureau to speed up express mail deliveries between the two countries.

With the move, Japan Post aims to overtake U.S. giant FedEx Corp. and Deutsche Post AG’s DHL International Ltd., both major players in China.

To strengthen international express delivery services, the two sides will discuss raising the weight limit of parcels, currently set at 30 kilograms. They will also exchange ideas on how to speed up customs-clearing processes and whether to expand the scope of their delivery time guarantees.

In fiscal 2003, 2.21 million items were delivered via express mail from Japan to China, while 1,745,000 were sent from China to Japan. Under the latest agreement, the two sides hope to double the volumes by fiscal 2006.

Also to be considered are mutual electronic fund transfers, personnel exchanges and the establishment of Japan Post centers in China.