China aims to reduce logistics costs by nearly 121bn yuan ($17.8bn) this year, the Ministry of Transport announced at a news conference of the State Council Information Office.
Spokesman Wu Chungeng said the ministry will unveil a string of measures not only to cut costs but to promote innovative development of the industry. China will continue to increase railway freight volume, upgrade its water transportation system, regulate highway freight transport and speed up multimodal transport in a bid to improve its logistics network and optimise its structure, Wu said.
It will also further integrate important ports and harbours into the inland multimodal transport and logistics network, which will connect them with more railways and highways and enable improved cargo interoperability, he said.