BEIJING — China's postal industry saw a 21.6 percent rise in business revenue year-on-year to reach 868.15 billion yuan (about $123.7 billion) in the first 11 months, data from the State Post Bureau showed.

The express delivery sector, the backbone of the postal service, has seen fast expansion, as courier firms made 56.79 billion deliveries during the period, up 25.4 percent year-on-year.

The business revenue of these courier firms jumped 23.9 percent year-on-year to stand at 672.57 billion yuan over the same period.

China plans to extend its courier network and improve computer systems, services and international connections by 2020 when the target annual revenue of the courier sector will hit 800 billion yuan.