In January 2026, the logistics industry witnessed a major collaboration. On January 15th, J&T Express and SF Express jointly announced a plan to issue new shares to each other. This investment transaction, valued at HK$8.3 billion, aims to jointly expand overseas business. Qu Tian, founder of ATM Capital and an investor in J&T Express, stated, “Based on market capitalization, this kind of collaboration is unprecedented in the logistics industry.” Qu Tian believes that China’s logistics companies are still in the early stages of going global, but overseas expansion is already an industry consensus. Over the past year, leading express delivery companies have made progress in their overseas expansion, with different models, advantages, and key markets. With a combined market capitalization of nearly 300 billion yuan, this collaboration can be considered a natural progression. On the one hand, SF Express is a major shareholder of J&T Express, and the two companies have close business cooperation. On the other hand, J&T Express has achieved significant growth in both domestic and international businesses over the past few years, reaching a stage where they can become strategic partners. In terms of business capabilities, J&T Express and SF Express complement each other. SF Express focuses on cross-border business, owning over 100 aircraft and air freight lines; J&T Express excels in local delivery. The future collaborative model between the two companies may involve SF Express handling cross-border operations, while J&T Express handles local delivery. Previous data from J&T Express showed that it achieved over 50% growth in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America in the fourth quarter of last year. After the cooperation, both parties are targeting the European and American markets. Currently, J&T Express and SF Express are actively evaluating opportunities in the US and European markets and are expected to take action and cooperate closely in the future.
Opportunities exist in the European and American markets. The US e-commerce express delivery market is large, while the express delivery market driven by the development of e-commerce in Europe is yet to be developed. In the US, apart from Amazon’s self-operated logistics, other express delivery companies mainly focus on business shipments, with limited e-commerce express delivery services and high prices, and a lack of independent third-party e-commerce express delivery service companies. Meanwhile, Chinese logistics companies’ competitors overseas are mainly international brands such as UPS, FedEx, and DHL, as well as local brands in the Middle East such as Aramex and Brazilian Post. Logistics and express delivery expert Zhao Xiaomin pointed out that when J&T Express and SF Express expand their overseas presence, they need to consider local culture, laws, religions, and customs to achieve localization.
Qu Tian speculates that after the cooperation between J&T Express and SF Express, they will be able to challenge European and American giants, such as UPS.
UPS’s core business is domestic delivery in the US and cross-border delivery from overseas to the US. It lacks local delivery networks in other overseas regions, areas where J&T Express and SF Express can further develop. Qu Tian believes that China’s advanced technology and management models allow it to gain competitiveness even in high-labor-cost markets like Europe and the US by reducing delivery costs through scale and automation. Zhao Xiaomin stated that Chinese companies’ advantages lie in technology, such as innovation, automated sorting, and big data capabilities. Furthermore, their data solution capabilities in the AI era surpass those of international companies, and they can strengthen collaboration with e-commerce platforms like Temu, Shein, and Shopee. However, Chinese logistics companies also face challenges going global. Zhao Xiaomin cautioned against overlooking legal, cultural, labor protection, and data security issues in the domestic market, while avoiding simply replicating domestic competitive models overseas. In fact, the overseas expansion of Chinese logistics companies is highly consistent with that of e-commerce platforms. Several Chinese logistics companies have already established a presence in the Southeast Asian market, each with different positioning and strengths. For example, Cainiao focuses on trunk lines, leveraging Alibaba’s resources and development of overseas warehouse models; J&T Express focuses on local delivery and market-oriented operations, maintaining high customer loyalty. ZTO Express, in collaboration with domestic manufacturers and e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia, has launched new cross-border transportation routes and plans to open more freight trains in the future, exploring a new model of “cross-border freight trains + overseas warehouses.” In addition, Cainiao Logistics’ technology products have been deployed in 27 countries and regions worldwide; JD Logistics, in collaboration with JD Retail, is accelerating its development in Europe and improving logistics efficiency through technology exports. Qu Tian believes that logistics going global is still in its early stages and has great potential for future development; Zhao Xiaomin believes that in the next three to five years, logistics companies need to accelerate globalization and achieve differentiated competition through localization.
