State Council Meeting Urges Faster Development of Modern Logistics System, Shifting Focus from Cost Reduction to Systemic Efficiency Gains

　　Shanghai Securities News China Securities Network (Reporter Bai Lifei) The State Council executive meeting held on October 17 heard a report on the implementation of actions to effectively reduce logistics costs across society. The meeting proposed continuously promoting cost reduction, quality improvement, and efficiency enhancement in logistics, accelerating the development of a modern logistics system that features supply-demand matching, internal and external connectivity, safety, efficiency, intelligence, and greenness, deepening the adjustment of the freight transport structure, and strengthening the coordination and connection of management systems, rules, and standards for multimodal transport.

　　Wang Yaxian, Associate Professor at Beijing Wuzi University, told a Shanghai Securities News reporter that the State Council executive meeting's deployment regarding "effectively reducing logistics costs across society" accurately targets the current key bottlenecks restricting economic circulation. The core of the policy lies in shifting the focus of logistics cost reduction from the "price-squeezing" burden reduction in single links to systemic efficiency gains driven by "structural optimization, technology empowerment, and system unification."

　　The meeting also proposed increasing investment in areas such as logistics and warehousing facilities, optimizing their layout, improving their functions, and accelerating the construction and upgrading of digital logistics infrastructure. It called for promoting the opening up and interconnection of logistics data, deepening the integration of AI and other technologies with logistics, and fostering the digital and intelligent development of logistics. Furthermore, it emphasized enhancing support for logistics enterprises, especially small and micro businesses, in areas like short-term financing, to help them become stronger, better, and larger.

　　Wang Yaxian believes that "strengthening the coordination and connection of management systems, rules, and standards for multimodal transport" directly addresses the core blockage point of institutional costs long caused by inconsistent standards and poor connectivity. Simultaneously, placing prominence on digital logistics infrastructure and AI integration aims to unlock new space for cost reduction through operational efficiency gains achieved via full-chain digitalization and intelligence. Additionally, the financing support for small and micro logistics enterprises reflects the policy's precision and inclusiveness, helping to stabilize the industrial ecosystem.

　　"Overall, this move signifies a deepening of the logistics industry's development strategy, transforming it from a traditional cost center into a value center driving industrial upgrading and economic growth through building a modern logistics system," Wang Yaxian said.