China has unveiled 19 new national cold chain logistics hubs in cities including Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Zunyi, bringing the total number of such facilities to 105 across the country.

The latest expansion completes China's "four horizontal and four vertical" backbone network for temperature-controlled goods transportation, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Sunday.

The newly selected hubs, located in 17 provinces from Guizhou in southwest China to Jilin in the northeast, demonstrate strong potential in improving cold chain infrastructure, meeting consumer demand and driving digital transformation.

In Zunyi City of Guizhou Province, home to China's largest chili wholesale market, the logistics base enables efficient nationwide distribution of southwestern agricultural products.

The facility in Changchun City, Jilin Province provides storage capacity equivalent to 50,000 300-liter refrigerators for fruits, vegetables and frozen goods.

"The 19 newly designated national cold-chain logistics hubs will serve as model facilities to improve the distribution of specialty agricultural products and enhance urban fresh food supply, thereby boosting consumption in both urban and rural areas. These hubs will incorporate advanced technologies such as intelligent sorting systems and logistics robots to develop new quality productive forces in cold chain logistics. Additionally, the hubs will help integrate domestic and international cold chain networks to better meet import demands for seafood and meat products," said Wang Jianjun, director of the NDRC's Department of Trade.

The expanded network addresses regional imbalances, with 64 hubs now located in central and western regions.

Authorities plan to further integrate these logistics bases with modern agriculture and food processing industries, aiming to build an efficient, secure and intelligent cold chain system that ensures reliable supply of perishable goods nationwide. The development aligns with China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for cold chain logistics and recent initiatives to reduce overall logistics costs.