2001 Highlights

Jan.1
State Post Bureau (SPB) issued a set of 5 commemorative stamps with the theme Turn of A New Century, Beginning of A New Millennium - into the 21st Century.

Jan. 13-15
National Postal Work Conference was held in Beijing. It put forward the major development objectives of China Post in the tenth 5-year period, disposed the whole year's work for the realization of "turning losses into profits within three years" , and call on the nationwide postal staff to work hard to open up a new prospect for the development of the postal industry.

Feb. 16
The signing ceremony for the Framework Agreement of Strategic Cooperation between SPB and China Unicom was held. Postmaster General Liu Liqing and Chairman Yang Xianzu signed the agreement on behalf of both sides.

Mar. 1
The new Domestic Mail Processing Regulations stipulated by SPB came into effect from this date.

Mar. 15
SPB made structural adjustments to the postage of international parcels as well as parcels to Hong Kong and Macao. The newly-adjusted postage came into effect from this date.

Mar. 26
The jointly-sponsored Seminar on Universal Postal Service by SPB and the International Bureau of UPU was Held in Beijing. Delegates from 21 countries and regions including China, Germany, the US, etc., as well as representatives from the National People's Congress and the State Council took part in the meeting. Mr. Mazou, Deputy Director of the International Bureau of UPU, and Mr. Liu Liqing, Postmaster General of SPB, attended the meeting and delivered speeches. Mr. Liu Andong, Deputy Postmaster General of SPB, presided over the opening ceremony.

Mar. 28
The Express Airline Network of China Post opened. Mr. Liu Liqing, Postmaster General of SPB, Mr. Han Zheng, Deputy Mayor of Shanghai Municipality, and leaders from the Civil Aviation Administration of China were present at the opening ceremony.

Apr. 5
The 5th China International E-business Convention was held in Beijing. Mr. Wu Shixiong, Deputy Postmaster General of SPB, made a speech at the President Forum on behalf of SPB. His topic was To Be Innovative and Pragmatic - A Way for the Development of E-Post in China.

Apr. 29
The Celebration Meeting in Honor of May 1 International Labor Day was solemnly held in Beijing. Some units and persons from the postal sector were commended. The Square Acceptance and Delivery Branch of Taiyuan Post Office of Shanxi Province, and Guangdong Post Bureau were awarded the National May 1 Labor Certificate of Merit. Wang Shunyou, a postman from Muli County of Liangshan Prefecture of Sichuan Province, and other 10 postmen were awarded the National May 1 Labor Medal.

May 25
The Prize-Awarding Ceremony of the 21st National Best Stamp Popularity Poll was held in Beijing. Mr. Tian Jiyun, Vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the N PC, Mr. Wu Jichuan, Minister of Information 1ndustry, Mr. Liu Liqing, Postmaster General of SPB, Mr. Wang Guangtao, Deputy Mayor of Beijing Municipality, and Mr. Liu Pingyuan, President of All China Philatelic Federation were present at the ceremony. The stamp of Clivia won the best stamp prize; The stamps of Successful Test Flight of China's "Shenzhou" Spaceship and Small Carp Leap through Dragon Gate won the excellent stamp prize; the stamps of Mulan Joining the Army won the expert prize for the best stamp; the miniature sheet of Clivia won the printing prize for the best stamp.

Jun. 7-9
The 1st National Postal Conference on News Propaganda Work was held. Mr. Liu Liqing, Postmaster General of SPB, and Mr. Liu Andong, Deputy Postmaster General of SPB, attended the conference and made important speeches.

Jun. 8
The contract signing ceremony on leasing three airplanes between China Postal Airlines Corporation and China National Aerotechnology Import and Export Corporation was held in Beijing. The three leased airplanes will be used on the newly opened air lines: Shenyang - Shanghai - Shenyang, Shenzhen - Shanghai - Shenzhen and Xi'an - Shanghai - Xi'an.

Jun. 15-16
The National Work Conference on Postal IT was held in Beijing, at which the tenm5-yeardevelopmentobjects of postal IT was raised.

Jun. 17
The Postal Enterprise Association of SPB was founded in Beijing, meanwhile the 1st Committee Member Conference was held. Mr. Tan Xiaowei was elected president of the first board of directors. Mr. Guo Yongbin, Mr. Wang Jingjiang, Mrs. Zhao Lianrong, and Mr. Zhao Zhongxin were elected vice-presidents.

Jun. 18
The Framework Agreement was signed between SPB and China Southern Airlines for cooperation in such fields as mail transportation, commission agents for air tickets, airfreight, technology support, etc.

June
SPB made unified deployment, according to which full-time postal law-executing teams will be formed in all the big or medium-sized cities, the provincial (autonomous region and municipal)-level law-executing brigades will be formed therefore.

Jun. 28
The ceremony in honor of the 80th Anniversary of the Founding of CPC & the Prize-Awarding Soiree of the 1st National Postal Staff Theatrical Festival was grandly held at the National Minority Cultural Palace in Beijing. Mr. Wu Jichuan, Mr. Liu Liqing, Mr. Wu Shixiong, Mr. Liu Andong and Mrs. Sheng Huiping awarded prizes to the award-winning performances.

Jun. 30
The first issue ceremony of the commemorative stamp in honor of the 80m Anniversary of the Founding of CPC was solemnly held. Mr. Jiang Zemin, President of the PRC, wrote an inscription for the commemorative envelope: the 80th Anniversary of the Founding of CPC. Mr. Tomur Dawamat, Vice-chairman of the NPC, Mr. Yang Rudai, Vice-chairman of the CPPCC, Mrs. Qu Weizhi, Vice-minister of Information Industry, Mr. Gao Junliang, Vice-minister of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee, Mr. Liu Zhen, Deputy Secretary-general of the Standing Committee of the NPC, Mr. Liu Liqing, Postmaster General of SPB, Mr. Wu Shixiong and Mr. Liu Andong, Deputy Postmasters General of SPB, were present at the ceremony.

Jul. 1
China Post launched electronic-remittance service to the society. The first 120-odd connected outlets in 26 cities nationwide opened this service, which ensures the arrival within 24 hours.

Jul. 13
The first issue ceremony of the commemorative stamp in honor of Beijing' s Success in bidding for the 2008  Olympic Games was grandly held. Mr. Liu Liqing, Postmaster General of SPB, Mr. Tan Xiaowei, Mr. Wu Shixiong, Mr. Liu Andong, Mr. Ma Junsheng, Deputy Postmasters General of SPB, together with Mr. P.C. Luk, Postmaster General of Hong Kong Post Office, Mr. Carlos Aberto Roldao Lopes, Director General of Macao Post Office, were present at the ceremony.

Jul. 23
The Guangzhou Mail Processing Center-a national first-class one, which is the largest in scale and the highest in automation level in China, went into operation. Mr. You Ningfeng, Vice-governor of Guangdong Province, and Mr. Liu Liqing, Postmaster General of SPB, switched on the button for the formal operation of the center.

Aug. 1
The postal express parcel service is launched nationwide.

Aug. 5
Mr. Qian Qichen, Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and Vice-premier of the State Council, unveiled the stamp Beidaihe River at the first issue ceremony. Mr. Liu Liqing, Postmaster General of SPB, Mr. Feng Wenhai, Mr. Yang Qian, and Mr. Cai Limin, leaders from Hebei Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government, attended the ceremony.

Aug. 22
SPB issued a set of 3 commemorative stamps in honor of the 21st Universiade. Mr. Zhang Faqiang, Executive Vice-chairman of the Organizing Committee, and Mr. Liu Liqing, Postmaster General of SPB, unveiled the stamp.

Aug. 28
The 2nd China International Postal Technology & Equipment Exhibition was inaugurated in Beijing. Mr. Zhou Tienong and Mr. Wang Wenyuan, Vice-chairmen of the CPPCC, Mr. Zhang Chunjiang, Vice-minister of Information Industry, Mr. Liu Liqing, Postmaster General of SPB, cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony and visited the exhibition. 80 manufacturers from over ten countries including China, France, Germany, the US, etc., took part in the exhibition.

Sep. 1
The delivery speed of ordinary domestic mail was once again picked up. The time limit of delivery was shortened by 2 to 3 days.

Sep. 12
China Post opened five new airlines starting from Shanghai to Shenyang, Wuhan, Xi'an, Fuzhou and Shenzhen respectively. Up to this date, China Post had owned 10 postal airlines, covering more than 60% of the airmail on its own.

Sep. 21-25
The 2001 China National Philatelic Exhibition was held in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province. Mr. Liu Liqing, Postmaster General of SPB, Mr. Li Yuanchao, Mr. Fang Zhizhuo, Mrs. Zhang Lianzhen, Mr. Zhou Sangyi, leaders from Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government, as well as Mr. Liu Pingyuan, President of the All-China Philatelic Federation, were present at the opening ceremony. Mr. Liu Liqing awarded to Ms. Song Zuying, a well known singer, the China First Philatelic Ambassadress Certificate of Appointment.

Oct. 9
It's World Post Day. The theme is: The Post-Broaden Your Horizons. Mr. Liu Liqing, Postmaster General of SPB, published a speech in People's Daily and other CPC central committee newspapers with the title. Work Hard to Broaden New Service Areas. Postal organizations throughout the country commemorated this day in various ways.

Oct. 17
Mr. Li Lanqing, Vice-premier of the State Council, presided over the meeting to study ways to prevent the issues relating to creating terror activities by using such bacteriological or chemical weapons as anthrax bacillus. The meeting called on the postal sector to enhance the management over the organizations handling the delivery of express mail with foreign postage. On the same day, SPB issued an urgent announcement to prevent the spread of anthrax through post.

Nov. 1
As an experiment, SPB launched the service of "hybrid mail" , i.e., PC-Letter in 18 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangdong, etc.

Nov. 8-10
The National Postal Conference on Science and Technology Work was held. It confirmed the overall objectives of postal science and technology work of the country in the l0th 5-year period.

Nov. 10
The first issue ceremony of the stamp in honor of the 9th National Games was held in Guangzhou. Present at the ceremony were Mr. Jacques Rogge, Chairman of the International Olympic Committee, Mr. Yuan Weimin, director general of the State General Administration of Sport, Mr. He Zhenliang, Executive Member of the International Olympic Committee, Mr. Zhong Yangsheng, Mr. Xu Deli, leaders from Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government, Mr. Liu Liqing, Postmaster General of SPB, and Mr. Liu Andong, Deputy Postmaster General of SPB.

Dec. 4-6
The Experience Exchange Conference of Oriental Kiosk Construction was jointly held in Shanghai by the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Spiritual Civilization Office of the CPC Central Committee, the State Press and Publication Administration and the State Post Bureau.

Dec. 11
The first issue ceremony of the commemorative stamp in honor of China's Entry into the WTO was held in China International Trade Center. Mr. Liu Liqing, Postmaster General of SPB, and Mr. Zhou Keren, Vice-minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, unveiled the stamp. Mr. Tan Xiaowei, Deputy Postmaster General of SPB, Presided over the ceremony.

Dec. 14
Mr. Wu Bangguo, Vice-premier of the State Council, presided over the meeting and listened to the report of SPB regarding China Post's vision to turn losses into profits by the end of the year, as well as its future plan thereafter. Mr. Wu fully approved of this year's work of SPB and spoke highly of it. On Dec.28 Mr. Wu wrote to SPB, extending his regards to all the staff of the postal sector.

Dec. 31
The whole industry of China Post realized its vision of turning losses into profits by gaining a profit of RMB 60.85 million yuan. In 1998 when post was split from telecommunication, the revenue of postal services was RMB 28.7 billion yuan; In 1999, the revenue of postal services was RMB 37 billion yuan, cutting down the loss by RMB 11.26 billion yuan; In 2000, the revenue of postal services was RMB 42.4 billion yuan, cutting down the loss by RMB 3.44 billion yuan; In 2001, the revenue of postal services was RMB 47.1 billion yuan, increasing RMB 18.4 billion yuan than that in 1998. The overall labour productivity of the whole sector reached RMB 92,000 yuan, up 80% than that in 1998.