The long-awaited reform of China's postal service is gathering
momentum with the launch of 10 new management bureaux this
week.
Yesterday the State Postal Bureau (SPB), or China Post, launched
five provincial post management bureaux in Shanghai, Hebei, Fujian, Ningxia and Chongqing, according to an SPB spokeswoman.
That followed the opening of five bureaus in Tianjin, Zhejiang, Shandong, Sichuan and Shaanxi on Monday.
The new bureaux are part of the government's ambitious
market-oriented reform scheme through which the SPB's
administrative functions and business practices will be separated.
The SPB plays a dual role in China as it's both the national postal
operator and the country's postal regulator.
The SPB spokeswoman said provincial bureaux would be established
across the country in the near future but didn't give a specific
timetable. Provincial management bureaux will be under the direct
administration of the SPB rather than the jurisdiction of local
government.
Also planned is a national administration centre and the China
Post Group Corp which will deal with postal services. The two will
operate independently.
The State Council last year endorsed the much-debated postal
reform package. The scheme was proposed several years ago but its
complexity stalled the process. And questions have been raised as
to how the government should deal with combining so-called
post-exclusive services and competitive postal services after the
reforms.
While competitive postal services such as express delivery have
proved lucrative and enjoyed rapid growth post-exclusive services
such as sending letters and the printing of stamps have suffered
losses.
The government currently subsidizes post-exclusive services. But
determining how to foster the unprofitable industry after the
reforms may prove difficult.
A fully market-oriented postal operator may not be willing to
offer post-exclusive services without government subsidies. For
example it's understood that establishing a presence in
poverty-stricken or mountainous regions is unprofitable for
operators.
Delivery giants DHL, FedEx, TNT, UPS and domestic private
logistics firms have long lobbied legislators and regulators for
industry deregulation and a specific definition of post-exclusive
services.
Chinese legislators are amending the existing Postal Law to
redefine the scope of post-exclusive services but the SPB
spokeswoman said a timetable for this hadn't been set.
(China Daily September 6, 2006)