2003 Highlights

January 10 Mr. Wu Bangguo, Vice Premier and member of the standing committee of the central political bureau made important instructions on the work of China Post. He extended warm greetings to the postal officials and staff across the nation and expressed the hope that China Post should make greater achievements and contributions during the process of building a well-off society in an all-round way. 

January 18 China Post Logistics Co., Ltd. was formally established, marking China Post’s entry into the logistics business with brand-new philosophy and modern operating mechanism.

January 22-24 National Postal Work Conference was held in Wuhan. The conference reviewed the postal work in 2002 and the fundamental experiences of China Post since its independent operation, defined the tasks for 2003 and raised the objectives of China Post. 

February 28 The Ministry of Finance invited a group of experts and scholars to the Seminar on Universal Postal Service held in Chengdu, discussing under the market economy how to establish an effective compensation system for China Post’s universal postal service.

March 12 China Post Logistics Co., Ltd. held the signing ceremony at the State Post Bureau in Beijing with 7 well-known international and domestic companies including Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Kerry Logistics Network Limited, Anqing Dibogeci Piston Ring Co., Ltd., China Kejian Corporation Limited, Lenovo Mobile Communication Co., Ltd, Nanjing Panda Mobile Communication Equipment Co., Ltd. and Jilin Xiuzheng Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd.

April Prior to the International Labor Day, Mr. Wang Dewu and 8 other postal employees, and Hanzhong Postal Bureau of Shanxi Province and 12 other postal bureaus were cited by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and awarded the “National Labor Day Medal” and the “National May 1 Labor Certificate” respectively.

April 21 At the Director-level Cadres Conference of the State Post Bureau, the Department of Organization of CPC declared the decision of the Central Party Committee and the State Council that Mr. Liu Andong would replace Mr. Liu Liqing for the position of Party Secretary, Postmaster General of the State Post Bureau and member of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Information Industry. 

April 21 The State Post Bureau issued the Emergency Notice on Strengthening SARS Prevention and Control within the Postal Sector, stating that SARS prevention and control must be strengthened so as to protect the health and safety of the public and postal staff and maintain normal postal production and operation. 

April 25 With 2 No.8 transport planes, China Post Airlines carried out an emergency flight from Fuyang of Anhui Province to Beijing to transport SARS protective suits to the designated hospitals. At 0:30 a.m. the next morning, 940 boxes, or 94,000 sets of protective suits arrived at Beijing, making the emergency flight a complete success.

April 29 The State Post Bureau issued the decision that anti-SARS donations remitted to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Red Cross Society of China and China Charity Federation through post would be conducted free of charge. 

May 19 The First-Day Issue & Donation Ceremony of Stamp Titled Fighting Against SARS with One Heart was held at the State Post Bureau. Mr. Wang Xudong, Minister of Information Industry and Mr. Gao Qiang, Administrative Vice Minister of Health unveiled the stamp. Mr. Liu Andong, Postmaster General, on behalf of the State Post Bureau, donated RMB 5 million yuan of cash together with RMB 5 million yuan worth of stamps and stamp items to the Ministry of Health. 

June 6 Hunan Hongxiang Insurance Agency Co., Ltd., invested by four companies including Hunan Copote Science & Technology Corporation and with Hunan Post Bureau as the controlling shareholder, was established. It is the first specialized insurance agent established in the postal sector. 

July 1 Mr. Wen Jiabao, member of the standing committee of the Central Political Bureau and Premier of the State Council, attended the swearing ceremony of the new party members of Shenzhen Bao’an Post Bureau, sincerely encouraging them to be “good party members”, and had a group photo taken with them. 

August 14 China Post and China Mobile signed the Cooperation Framework Agreement which required both parties to strengthen cooperation in market expansion, resources complementarities, agent service development and technological support. The cooperation will facilitate various extended services to benefit customers of both sides.

August 20-21 China Post and China Unicom held the Conference on Promoting Business Cooperation in Harbin, declaring that both parties would continue to raise the bilateral strategic cooperation to a higher level. 

August 28 The State Post Bureau readjusted the postage of domestic EMS items and the charge of post scripture to the electronic remittance. The charging units of weighing point and excessive point were changed from 200g to 500g, and the 6 yuan for each charge unit in terms of excessive weight was changed into the charge according to space distance. No charge would be made for post scriptures within 6 Chinese characters, and 0.10 yuan per Chinese character would be charged for the excessive characters. 

September 1 The State Post Bureau made major readjustments to the sorting and dispatching procedures of regular letter mail, which was the third readjustment made by the State Post Bureau since 1998 when post was separated from telecommunication. The readjustment would help form the post route structure with C1 and C2 mail centers as the distribution hubs for regular mail and develop a modern mail processing model. 

September 12 As the first cross-sector Group in the domestic publishing industry, the Xinhua Publishing Group, which was cosponsored by Xinhua Bookstore, China Publication Corporation for Foreign Trade, China National Publications Import and Export Corporation, China Post Logistics Co., Ltd. and China Post Mail Order Co., Ltd., was formally established.

September 26 Mr. Liu Zhijun, Minister of Railway and Mr. Liu Andong, Postmaster General signed the Framework Agreement on Strategic Cooperation between the Ministry of Railway and the State Post Bureau in Beijing. According to the Agreement, both parties would engage in close cooperation.

September 28 Mr. Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and President of the PRC, met Ms. Chen Shiqong (Tujia ethnic minority), a national model worker participating in the 14th National Congress of All-China Federation of Trade Unions and Head of Ruxi Postal Outlet, Zhongxian County, Chongqing. 

October 9 On the 34th World Post Day, Mr. Liu Andong, Postmaster General delivered a speech. On behalf of the State Post Bureau, Mr. Liu extended sincere greetings to the postal staff across the country and thanks to the party committees and governments at all levels, the public and customers for their support to the postal development. 

October 16 The First-Day Issue Ceremony of the stamp titled “The Successful Flight of China’s First Manned Spaceship” was held in Beijing Aerospace Center, the birth place of “Shenzhou V Spaceship”. Mr. Li Jinai, member of the Central Military Commission, Director of the General Armament Department and commander-in-chief of the manned spaceship project and Mr. Liu Andong, Postmaster General jointly unveiled the stamp. On behalf of the State Post Bureau, Mr. Liu presented stamps and souvenirs to the General Armament Department of the PLA, Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. 

November 17 Mr. Liu Andong, Postmaster General of the State Post Bureau, met Mr. Jiang Renhong, newly appointed Postmaster General of Hong Kong Post. They signed the MOU on Closer Business Relations between China Post and Hong Kong Post in form of exchange of letters. 

December 1 At 3:00 a.m., a “China Post” Boeing 737－QC plane filled with international mail left Shanghai Pudong International Airport for Osaka of Japan, marking the realization of next-day delivery EMS service from Shanghai to Japan. 

December 1 At the 16th World AIDS Day, the State Post Bureau and the Ministry of Health jointly held the First-Day Issue Ceremony for the commemorative stamp World AIDS Day in Beijing.

December 9 The State Post Bureau and Hainan Airlines signed the Framework Agreement of Strategic Cooperation, marking a step forward in their bilateral cooperation.

December 10 Hunan Copote Science & Technology Co., Ltd. was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, making it a pioneer of China Post in the capital market.