BEIJING — Chinese couriers delivered an estimated 40 billion parcels last year — 110 million a day — up 28 percent year on year, the national postal and courier service regulator said on Jan 8.

The nation’s postal service also maintained fast growth, with overall business expected to reach 976 billion yuan ($150 billion), up 32 percent year on year in 2017, according to the State Post Bureau (SPB).

In the past year, infrastructure for postal and courier deliveries expanded steadily. Storage and delivery technology such as unmanned warehouse, drone and driverless vehicles have improved efficiency.

Ma Junsheng, head of the SPB, told Xinhua that postal and courier services were vital in connecting urban and rural regions, with around 900 projects helping farmers to sell their produce.

“Postal and logistics services are an important force in targeted poverty reduction,” he said.

People in 96 percent of villages now have direct postal services and the SPB plans to increase that rate to 98 percent this year, another 10,000 villages, he said.

Meanwhile, Chinese couriers’ service network has covered 87 percent of the counties and villages.

Looking ahead, Ma plans to make deliveries greener and smarter, with 50 percent of packaging biodegradable by 2020.