China Post and SPS: joining hands for win-win development

Liu Aili, Chairman of the China Post Group, delivered keynote remarks at a special event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the SPS Cooperative in March. The title of the speech was 'Joining Hands for Win-Win Development' where Liu Aili highlighted the close collaboration between China Post and the development of the SPS Cooperative.

The SPS Cooperative was founded in Beijing at the 22nd UPU Congress in 1999 and China Post has always been a member of the SPS Cooperative. From the start, SPS Cooperative members have voted for a representative from China Post to a position on the SPS Cooperative Board and China Post has hosted four Board meetings. 

Liu Aili's speech showed how China Post has participated actively in the formulation of the regulations and development of SPS. China Post has participated in SPS Cooperative activities, it was the first member to take part in an SPS Twinning Project through its work with Japan Post. It has actively supported SPS performance improvement activities including the Standard Agreements and Procedures; SPS Pay-for-performance and SPS customer care.

Since the launch of the SPS Cooperative, China Post's international SPS business volume has increased by seven times, with a compound annual growth rate of more than 10%. The last 20 years have seen rapid development of e-commerce and SPS is a key part of China Post's cross-border e-commerce product portfolio. Liu Aili showed how China Post has worked on product innovation, technological innovation and capacity building to meet the needs of cross-border e-commerce customers becoming the preferred logistics channel for cross-border e-commerce players in China. These innovations have meant that in 2018, China Post's international business volume reached 1.17 billion items.

The SPS Cooperative's bilateral and multilateral cooperation has helped China Post quickly establish cooperation with more than 180 SPS Cooperative members worldwide to work together on the shared goals for SPS performance improvement. Liu Aili stressed that China Post has always adhered to the notion of cooperation and win-win development, and hopes to work together with the SPS Cooperative and Posts of other countries to jointly promote the coordinated and sustainable development of the postal industry. 

Looking forward, Liu Aili proposed three initiatives for SPS. Firstly, business cooperation should be deepened. Focusing on cross-border e-commerce and being market-oriented and customer-centered, SPS Cooperative members should jointly develop new products to satisfy the needs of the cross-border e-commerce market. Secondly, the quality of service should be further improved; Posts should work hard to improve quality in the aspects of processing, transportation and delivery and to meet customs requirements Posts should use EDI messages (ITMATT). Thirdly, the stability of the UPU’s multilateral system should be maintained to ensure the development of the global postal market.

Liu Aili stressed that the booming of cross-border e-commerce brings new challenges and development opportunities to SPS. How to seize the opportunities to win the competition requires the common wisdom and efforts of the postal operators worldwide.