SHANGHAI - In the first eight months of this year, China saw faster growth in express delivery, official figures show.

The country has delivered 30.26 billion parcels as of August, a year-on-year growth of 27.2 percent, nearly reaching the total volume of 2016.

"The express delivery business in China is on a fast track. Meanwhile, it is seeking new opportunities to expand and diversify its services," Ma Junsheng, head of China's State Post Bureau, said Thursday at a forum in Shanghai.

He said that China's delivery industry will strengthen efforts to work with agricultural products suppliers to ensure fresh delivery from farm to table, innovate its supply chain with the latest technology and provide timely service for cross-border online shopping.

"With the increasing momentum, China's express delivery business is also taking into consideration green development," said Ma. "We are adopting new measures, such as using environmentally friendly packaging, encouraging recycling of parcel disposals and introducing fuel-efficient transport vehicles."

Statistics indicate that the total number of express deliveries in China surpassed 40 billion in 2017, topping the world's market for four consecutive years with a share of over 45 percent.