On June 2, the inaugural meeting of the Express Service Subcommittee (ISO/TC 344/SC2) under the ISO Technical Committee on Innovative Logistics was held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Mr. Zhao Chongjiu, Director of the State Post Bureau of China, Mr. Deng Zhiyong, Vice Minister of the State Administration for Market Regulation and Administrator of the Standardization Administration of China, and Mr. He Zhongwei, Vice Governor of the People's Government of Zhejiang Province, addressed the meeting. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Chen Kai, Deputy Director of the State Post Bureau.
Standards are the universal language of the world, the cornerstone of industrial interconnectivity, and an important vehicle for advancing economic globalization toward greater openness, inclusiveness, balance, and shared benefits. In June 2024, upon the proposal of the State Post Bureau, the Standardization Administration of China submitted to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) a proposal for the establishment of a technical committee on express services. Following over a year of review and balloting procedures, on July 11, 2025, ISO decided to establish a subcommittee on express services under its Technical Committee on Innovative Logistics (ISO/TC 344), with the secretariat to be hosted in China. This marks a new stage of development for the standardization of global express services.
In his address, Mr. Zhao Chongjiu noted that express services bridge online and offline operations and serve thousands of industries and communities, greatly facilitating people's production and daily lives. The establishment of the Express Service Subcommittee will help promote connectivity and build a convenient, efficient, secure, and resilient global express network; enhance the accessibility and balance of express services; and better serve global livelihoods while advancing the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Mr. Zhao emphasized that the Express Service Subcommittee should align with development trends to establish a sound and well-structured international standards system for express services. Efforts should focus on developing international standards in areas such as service quality and certification, network construction and operation and maintenance, technical equipment and applications, as well as green development and safety, to guide and support the sound development of the global express industry. The secretariat of the subcommittee should uphold the principle of extensive consultation by establishing an open and collaborative working mechanism and strengthening communication with member countries; adhere to the principle of joint contribution by deepening technical exchanges on standards and widely engaging express enterprises, upstream and downstream industry chain players, and research institutes in the development of international standards; and pursue the principle of shared benefits by promoting mutual learning among countries and delivering early standardization outcomes, thereby contributing to the development of global express services.
Mr. Deng Zhiyong pointed out that the healthy and orderly development of the express industry depends on a fair and competitive market environment and reliable technical support, and that standards play a crucial role in both guidance and safeguard. China's successful initiative to establish the Express Service Subcommittee within ISO and host its secretariat reflects the international community's recognition of China's practical exploration and standardization achievements in the express sector, while also entailing greater responsibilities. He expressed the hope that the secretariat would uphold an open and cooperative approach and work with experts from all countries to reach consensus on more standardization outcomes.
It is noted that the specific secretariat work of the Express Service Subcommittee will be undertaken by the Development Research Center of the State Post Bureau. The secretariat will fully perform all duties conferred by ISO and strive to build an international platform for express service standardization.
Representatives from the Ministry of Transport, the State Post Bureau and its relevant departments, provincial postal administrations, the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing, ISO/TC 344 (Innovative Logistics) and its SC1 (Retail Logistics) and SC2 (Express Services), as well as industry enterprises, attended the meeting.
