China's fledging modern logistics industry reported significant progress in the first year since the country joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) and expects a stage of rapid development in three to five years.

This conclusion was drawn at the Nanhai International Logistics Forum, which opened Thursday in Nanhai City, in south China's Guangdong Province.

About 500 Chinese and overseas specialists and company delegates attended the two-day forum. They agreed that China's modern logistics had got off to a healthy start.

Progress had been spurred by the business activities of trans-national corporations in China, Ding Junfa, vice chairman of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, said Thursday in Nanhai.

Trans-national corporations have rushed to enter the Chinese market. Some of them rely on local logistics companies, and some turn to Sino-foreign joint-venture logistics providers.

Meanwhile, some large trans-national companies have moved theirbuying centers to China, offering the logistics sector a good chance to increase business turnover and improve its management.

The industry has been given priority by the State Economic and Trade Commission, a top economic planner in China, in its blueprint for the 2001-2005 period. Technical upgrading of logistical projects has begun attracting subsidized financial support from the government.

(Xinhua News Agency November 29, 2002)