BEIJING, March 9 -- China's courier sector saw its delivery volume exceed 20 billion parcels this year by March 8, as the country gives priority to restoring and expanding consumption, according to the State Post Bureau (SPB) on Thursday.

The country's courier companies hit the 20-billion-parcels mark within the first 67 days of 2023. This milestone was achieved 72 days earlier than in 2019, prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic.

This demonstrates the vigorous vitality of China's express delivery industry and the resilience and potential of the Chinese consumer market, the SPB said, adding that consumer market is accelerating recovery, and economic recovery is picking up pace.

Data also shows that every day, over 100 million parcels are handled in rural areas, as industrial products are sent to villages and agricultural products are shipped out to urban households.

This year, the SPB will focus on serving boosting domestic demand and the real economy, deeply integrating into the industrial, supply and value chains, continuously reducing logistics costs, and promoting the construction of the rural logistics system, it said.