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A US Postal Service employee sorts parcels for distribution during the start of the holiday mail rush, on December 3, 2024. Photo: VCG

In a U-turn, the US Postal Service (USPS) announced in a short notice on Wednesday that effective February 5, it will continue accepting all international inbound mail and packages from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong Posts.  

Earlier on Tuesday, the USPS had announced a temporary suspension of inbound parcels from the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), but clarified that letters and flats would not be affected.    

In response to the USPS's announcement that it had temporarily stopped accepting packages from Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday that we call on the US to stop politicizing and weaponizing trade and economic issues, and stop groundlessly going after Chinese companies. China will also continue to take necessary measures to firmly defend the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies, Lin noted. 

The USPS' once suspension sparked the strong disapproval from the HKSAR government. A spokesperson from the HKSAR government expressed strong disapproval on Wednesday of the imposition of additional 10 percent duty on products of Hong Kong set out in the US Federal Register notice of the US Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security, and the temporary suspension of inbound postal items containing goods from Hongkong Post by the US Postal Service, according to a statement from the HKSAR government. "We urge the US to take urgent actions to rectify the FR Notice as well as to lift the suspension of accepting inbound postal items containing goods from Hongkong Post as a matter of priority," the spokesperson said.

Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that since online shopping is now the norm, a large number of packages from China enter the US through e-commerce channels. The Chinese expert emphasized that American consumers will bear the brunt if the US Postal Service continues suspending international packages from mainland and HKSAR. 

"Many of the small goods they purchase from China through online shopping are affordable and of good quality, playing an important role in meeting their daily needs. If this supply is suddenly cut off, it will be detrimental to consumers," Wu said. Some US e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu will also be affected if the suspension continues, according to CNN. Lü Xiang, an expert on US studies and a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday that cross-border e-commerce plays a significant role in facilitating global goods circulation, improving logistics efficiency, and ultimately reducing the cost of living for people worldwide.