BEIJING - China's courier sector registered robust growth in the first half of 2020 after a quick recovery from a COVID-19 downturn, the State Post Bureau said Thursday.

As business activities resumed, the business volume of the sector saw an average growth rate of 22.5 percent in H1, almost the same as the average level of last year, according to the bureau's latest press conference.

In the second quarter, some 240 million parcels were handled every day, equal to the highest level during the same period reported in 2019.

The China express delivery development index came in at 364.2 in June, surging 75.1 percent from the same period last year, the bureau said in a report.

Compiled on the basis of data from China's major logistics firms operating delivery services, the index reflects the overall business activities and trends in the country's courier sector.