In this Nov 11, 2018 photo, a logistic worker of an e-commerce company distributes items in Hai'an City, east China's Jiangsu province. (GU HUAXIA / XINHUA)

BEIJING – Logistics demand in China improved in the first five months of 2020 on the back of supporting policies to coordinate economic growth and the control of the COVID-19 epidemic, official data showed.

The total value of social logistics in the January-May period fell 2.2 percent year on year to 96.9 trillion yuan (about US$13.7 trillion), according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

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The drop narrowed from the 4.2-percent decline seen in the first four months.

In the first five months, total logistics costs came in at 5.1 trillion yuan, down 6.9 percent year on year.

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The rising logistics demand came as China's economic activities continued to normalize as key economic indicators, including industrial output, retail sales and investment, showed signs of rebounds in the period.