At present almost 40 percent of the value of all world trade goes by air. Representing only some two percent of the tonnage of trade, air shipments clearly account for the high value end of production. Air express is both a cause of, and a response to, the changing nature of competition in international markets. The ability to ship packages to destinations around the world in only hours or days widens the field of competition in all industries and accelerates the pace of commerce. No country can expect to operate a modern economy of be at the forefront of trade in the 21 st century without a strong air express service.
China is no exception.
At present, outside of WTO discipline, China is a hodgepodge of regulatory barriers to efficient air express service. Let me cite a few. Currently, foreign-owned companies are not allowed to conduct customs brokerage and clearance, ground transportation, warehousing, consolidation, forwarding, or related services. These functions, which lie at the heart of an integrated air express carrier's operations, all have to be conducted through joint ventures or agents and this means that the foreign integrated carrier loses control of the process. For a company like FedEx, the lose of control over these functions, jeopardize our ability to guarantee time-definite service, the essence of our products.