CDB reports 67% loan increase in H1 for logistics projects

China Development Bank (CDB) issued loans of 12 billion yuan ($1.67 billion) in the first half of 2025 to support logistics infrastructure projects, with a sharp increase of 67 percent year-on-year, as the country strives to slash logistics costs to improve the quality of economic operations.

The policy bank said that the loans are aimed at supporting the expansion of domestic demand and stimulating consumption, and focused on promoting the effective reduction of total logistics costs and promoting the high-quality development of modern logistics, according to a post on the bank's website on Tuesday.

The medium-and long-term loans are focused on supporting projects such as national logistics hubs, key national cold-chain logistics bases, China-Europe freight trains, collection and distribution systems, and multimodal transport demonstration projects, according to the CDB.

In Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang Province, loans were granted to an international cold-chain logistics project of the Beilun National Key Cold-chain Logistics base. Ningbo is a major entry point for many foreign agricultural products including cherries from Chile, beef from Brazil, and crabs from Vietnam.

Xiao Zhen, a manager with the Ningbo branch of the CDB, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the loans cover construction and the purchase of digital hardware and software for the project via the bank's infrastructure investment fund and equipment upgrade loans.

The move comes amid broader government efforts to slash logistics costs.

The Government Work Report, approved on March 11 at the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, stated that "we will work faster to develop a unified and open transportation market and launch an initiative to cut logistics costs across society."

Minister of Transport Liu Wei said in March that in 2024, overall logistics costs nationwide were reduced by about 400 billion yuan, with transportation costs falling by 280 billion yuan, about two-thirds of the total.

In November 2024, China issued an action plan to cut the ratio of social logistics costs to GDP to about 13.5 percent by 2027 as the country moves to improve economic efficiency.

The CDB will in the next phase intensify its medium- and long-term financing support for the construction of the modern logistics operation system featuring channels, hubs and networks, and promote the integrated development of logistics and industries, and continue to contribute financial strength to the high-quality development of modern logistics, according to an executive with the bank's transportation department.