A Huolala van Photo: CFP

China's Ministry of Transport on Thursday urged all freight delivery businesses to always adhere to the principle of putting the safety of people's lives and property in the first place, as it responds to a recent fatal incident which occurred on domestic freight delivery platform Huolala.

A 23-year-old woman died on February 6 after jumping out of a moving Huolala van, a Uber-like freight company. The incident partially tells of Huolala's lack of proper safety precautionary measures, as well as its problematic management, Chinese experts say. 

All freight delivery services, including traditional delivery companies, innovative business models relying on the internet, and e-commerce platforms involved in freight services, should never place so-called technology innovation and development above people's safety, the ministry said.

Companies must properly balance safety and growth by strictly following standards and taking effective measures to continuously improve safety management, the ministry stated on Thursday.   

The Ministry of Transport issued a decree in 2019 addressing the standardization for the internet freight delivery business. According to the document, freight delivery businesses operating via online platforms should have the capacity to establish effective mechanism to track and record information interaction, and supervise the safety management to ensure a clear division of responsibility 

Global Times