DHL Express expands investment in China to tap trade growth

German logistics titan DHL Express will step up its investment in China to seize new business opportunities as the country reforms and opens up.

“We are the witness, participant and beneficiary of China’s reform and opening-up drive,” said Wu Dongming, CEO of DHL Express China and managing director of DHL-Sinotrans International Air Courier Ltd.

The popularity of cross- border e-commerce and China’s steady economic expansion bode well for the international express industry, and DHL will invest more in developing infrastructure in China, he said.

DHL opened its Zhuhai, Guangdong gateway on Friday to boost the efficiency of its international logistics express delivery west of the Pearl River, as the newly opened Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge eases transport between the mainland and the two special administrative regions.

According to Wu, the 55-kilometer bridge is expected to reduce the time needed for express transportation between Hong Kong and the west of the Pearl River from four hours to 45 minutes. A new air cargo service route between Shenzhen, Guangdong and Leipzig, Germany also opened on Friday.

Wu sees huge business potential in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, two pioneer cities instrumental in China’s drive to reform and open up, which are home to many trade- oriented high-tech firms and cross-border e-commerce platforms.

DHL Express is expanding a logistics hub in Hong Kong, which will have a stock area of about 50,000 square meters and improve cargo management efficiency by 50 percent.

China is the biggest market for DHL-Sinotrans International Air Courier Ltd, a joint venture of DHL and Chinese logistics giant Sinotrans, established in 1986. As the country’s biggest international express service provider, DHL-Sinotrans’ business enjoys a double-digit annual compound growth rate and now covers about 400 cities nationwide. MDT/Xinhua