China Postal monopoly under siege

Most people are not in favour of the State Postal Bureau’s monopoly of the nation’s postal system, according to a survey report issued by the Economic Monitory Centre with the National Bureau of Statistics last week.
Over 86 per cent of people did not support the monopoly enjoyed by the State Postal Bureau in the survey of over 700 people in Beijing and Shanghai.

The survey was undertaken earlier this month just after the shake-up of the country’s express delivery service market.

Local and foreign-owned companies which illegally provided letter and parcel delivery services were closed by postal officials.

These closures have fanned the public’s long-existing resentment towards the State Postal Bureau’s monopoly, according to the report. Nearly 30 per cent of surveyed people thought that the bureau did not have the right to close companies offering parcel delivery services. Only 13.5 per cent of people supported the bureau’s actions.

The survey also found that most people (64.3 per cent) were satisfied with the Express Mail Service (EMS) offered by the bureau.

But there was still room for improvement in the EMS service. Only 22 per cent of people were satisfied with the price offered by the bureau.

The survey found joint-venture express delivery companies, including DHL Worldwide Express and United Parcel Service, are becoming increasingly popular in China.

About 13.8 per cent of surveyed people used their on-time delivery services, and 11.3 per cent used their door-to-door services. Small express parcel delivery companies were even more popular, with about 20.8 per cent people using their door-to-door services, and 20.5 per cent pleased with their prices, according to the survey.

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