Deutsche Post DHL CEO Frank Appel started his whirlwind visit in Beijing at 7:30 am on June 29 shortly after flying 10 hours from . After a long day of meetings with government officials, partners and employees, the 48-year-old looked his interviewer in the eye and said: "We are still committed to Asia, particularly ."

Unlike any of his previous visits to in the heydays of booming business, this visit was made amid a global economic downturn that has seriously pounded the logistics industry. The economic crisis has had a direct impact on the business of the world's largest logistics company, resulting in a 13 percent drop in revenue and a 42 percent reduction in underlying EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) in the year's first quarter.

But Appel said the company would continue to invest in .

And he means it. DHL yesterday opened an eastern domestic transportation hub at the Kangqiao Industrial Park in Shanghai . It also plans to open 10 more similar regional domestic transportation hubs in major Chinese cities by the end of this year.

Source: ChinaDaily