China's e-commerce logistics activities registered a steady recovery in January, as express delivery figures were also up during the period following the easing of pandemic restrictions in the country and the Lunar New Year holidays.

The index tracking e-commerce logistics activities reached 104.6 points, up 1.8 points from the previous month, bucking the trend of contraction for three consecutive months, according to a survey jointly conducted by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing and e-commerce giant JD.com.

State media reported that eight out of the nine major sub-indices measuring e-commerce logistics activities in different fields recorded growth last month, with those for business volume and rural business up 2.1 points and 2.6 points, respectively, from a month ago.

The survey projects that the index will continue to rise in February 2023, given the obvious pick-up and sound prospect of the Chinese economy. 

Express delivery up in January

Meanwhile, during the same month, China's courier sector also registered an expansion, according to a monthly industry index.

Xinhua said China's express delivery development index for January came in at 265, up 1.5% year on year, citing data from the State Post Bureau.

It said that the sub-index for the development scale grew 19.4% from a year earlier, and China's express delivery industry handled about 410 million parcels during the recent Spring Festival holiday, approximately doubling the figure during the same holiday period in 2019.

The sub-index for development capacity picked up 0.9% year on year as China ramped up efforts to accelerate the construction of intelligent infrastructure and improve cross-border delivery capacity.

The report said that compiled on the basis of data from major logistics firms' operating delivery services, the development index reflects the overall business activities and trends in the country's courier sector.