The State Council approved a development plan for cold-chain logistics spanning the 14th Five-Year Plan period between 2021 and 2025, according to a circular issued on Dec 12 by the General Office of the State Council.
The circular urged establishing a green and smart cold-chain logistics system with safety and efficiency while boosting the quality of logistics services based on China’s national conditions, including production, circulation and consumption of cold-chain products.
To address major choke points hindering the development of cold-chain logistics, efforts should be made to shore up weak links in infrastructure, ease delivery routes, improve cold-chain technologies and equipment, and enhance oversight mechanisms, the circular said.
Infrastructure involves smart sorting equipment, logistics robots and temperature monitors, among others, while cold-chain technologies and equipment cover big data, 5G, artificial intelligence and other smart technologies.
Smooth cold-chain logistics should reduce loss of packaged agricultural products and food and ensure the safety of food and pharmaceutical products in transportation, to increase the supply of high-quality products and raise living standards for urban and rural residents, it added.
By 2025, the goal is to have a cold-chain logistics network that navigates between production and sales, covering both cities and rural areas in China while connecting it to the international market. By then, the cold-chain logistics system will suit the needs of economic and social development, with marked improvements in adjusting cross-seasonal supply and demand of agricultural products and delivering cold-chain products across regions, the circular said.
China will improve its logistics network for commercial services and international trade to make the system smarter, greener and more efficient by 2025, according to an action plan jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce and eight other government departments.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period between 2021 and 2025, the country will strive to establish a modern logistics system with a number of influential logistics firms competing internationally, the plan says.
The application of big data, 5G technology and artificial intelligence to the logistics system will be encouraged to facilitate more efficient delivery, according to the plan.
During the period, efforts will also be made to encourage the use of recyclable packaging materials and energy-saving transport equipment to create a green logistics system, the plan says.
China plans to establish several national cold-chain logistics bases and develop a whole-process distribution system to accelerate cold-chain logistics development from 2021 to 2025, according to the plan.
The high-quality development of logistics for commercial activities and international trade will contribute to the new development paradigm of "dual circulation" which allows domestic and overseas markets to reinforce each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay, the plan says.
