Editor's note: The article was first published by China Plus on September 3, 2019. The article does not necessarily reflect the views of CGTN.

It’s been reported that the U.S. shipping firm FedEx is under suspicion of illegally handling a parcel containing controlled knives being sent to Hong Kong. The items involved in this case have been temporarily detained by the Chinese authorities, and an investigation is under way.

This is yet another illegal act by FedEx. Only in June, the company was called out after shipping parcels containing guns sent from the U.S., in contravention of Chinese laws and regulations.

According to those laws and regulations, express delivery enterprises must strictly follow the mail inspection protocol in receiving and sending parcels. They should not ship any items that are prohibited by law or any items that may cause major safety problems. FedEx has been operating in China for more than 30 years, and it should be aware that items including guns, ammunition and controlled knives are on the “forbidden to ship item list.” 

As a major U.S. express delivery company, FedEx has tampered with a number of items destined for Huawei, has been involved in illegally shipping guns into China from the U.S., and is now suspected of illegally accepting packages with controlled knives destined for Hong Kong. This series of illegal acts are tantamount to destroying its own reputation in China and sabotaging its entire commercial credit worthiness.

In order to reveal the truth, protect consumers’ rights and interests, and optimize the business environment, the Chinese government opened an investigation into FedEx on June 1. The investigating progress and updates have been announced to the public in a timely manner. FedEx, on the other hand, has also repeatedly claimed through public statements that it will fully cooperate with the investigation and fully abide by Chinese laws and regulations.

However, even during the investigation, FedEx still broke the law. It is hard for consumers to trust a company like this. And the fact remains that FedEx has the lowest satisfaction rate in dealing with consumers’ complaints according to the monthly notice for July, issued by the State Post Office of China.

At present, the relevant Chinese departments have temporarily detained the controlled knives, and opened another investigation, with which FedEx is expected to cooperate.

China's express delivery market has great potential. Any foreign enterprises are welcome here, as long as they abide by the laws and comply with the regulations. No enterprise or individual in China has the right to be exempt from the law.

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