By Shi Jing in Shanghai (China Daily) Sep 25, 2014

Consumers will soon have a plethora of express delivery companies to choose from in China as the government has decided to open up the express delivery market to qualified foreign companies.

The decision to introduce more foreign investment in the sector was taken at a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday, Sep 24, 2014. The central government will create a business environment in which both domestic and foreign express companies can compete fairly, said a note released after the meeting. The enhanced competition will be an incentive for domestic companies to improve their operations and services, stimulate domestic demand and create more jobs, it said.

Leading overseas logistics companies have set their sights on the Chinese market as early as 2009, when the country's new Postal Law was implemented. United Parcel Service of America Inc has received licenses to operate express services in 33 Chinese cities, and 19 of these were granted this year. Apart from the two major hubs in Shanghai and Shenzhen, UPS also has about 250 operating facilities throughout China.

UPS expressed confidence that the "continuous market opening would facilitate greater opportunities for business growth, especially among small and medium-sized customer segments, as this growth is critical for the connectivity and competitiveness of the economy".

FedEx Corp said that it has been working closely with the relevant authorities to obtain express delivery services permits ever since the new Postal Law came into effect. Regarding the further opening-up of the package express delivery market, FedEx said it would be operating domestic business as usual in China.