There have been calls in China for the Central Government in Beijing to restrict foreign access to the domestic logistics market.

This comes after a report complied by 20 experts from China's logistics industry and related associations urged moves be taken to prevent foreign firms from monopolising the domestic logistics industry at the expense of local small- and medium-sized enterprises, Xinhua reports.

According to the findings of the report, leading overseas firms are dominating the international express and shipping industries, as well as logistics services catering to foreign manufacturers based in China.

At present, DHL, FedEx, UPS and TNT control an 80 per cent share of China's international express market. The world leaders have been expanding at a breakneck speed in China through acquisitions, mergers and franchises since Beijing opened up its logistics market to foreigners.

The report said that 98 per cent of clients of the foreign-owned logistics firms are privately-owned overseas companies or Sino-foreign joint ventures. On the other hand, the customers of local logistics businesses tend to be domestic firms, indicating that the customer service networks of both sides are separate and not yet overlapping.

But experts warn that the threat posed by foreign companies to China's fledgling domestic logistics industry may become more acute in future when they begin competing for domestic firms' business.