BEIJING — China's express delivery sector continued steady growth in the second quarter of this year with networks stretching further into less-developed central and western regions and rural areas.

The State Post Bureau (SPB) said Tuesday the sector generated more than 120 billion yuan (around $17.65 billion) of revenue in the April-June period, up 27.6 percent year-on-year, a growth rate around four times the national GDP increase.

A total of 9.8 billion deliveries were made during the period, up 31.3 percent from a year ago.

"The sector maintained its steady trend with improving services and expanding networks," Geng Yan, market monitoring official with the SPB, said during a press conference, adding that the proportion of deliveries in western areas edged up.

Rural business has also become a new growth point, Geng said.

Chinese villages are seeing an e-commerce boom. As the incomes of rural residents increase, growth in online retail purchases by rural shoppers has outpaced their urban counterparts. Rural deals accounted for 17.4 percent of the nation's total last year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The SPB expects over 10 billion deliveries and 125 billion yuan of revenue in the third quarter.

The country plans to extend the courier network and improve computerized systems, services, and international connections by 2020. The target annual revenue of the courier sector will be 800 billion yuan at that time.