China Post tracking
China Post tracking statuses explained
China Post is China's national postal operator. People abroad meet it on orders from sellers in China, on registered mail and on e-Packet (often written ePacket), which its EMS arm lists as an international service. A package is accepted in China, clears export customs, flies out and passes to the post in your country, which does the last mile. Tracking uses international postal terms such as 'Dispatched from Office of Exchange', and some lines appear only in Chinese.
Every China Post tracking status explained
| Status | What it means | Should you worry? |
|---|---|---|
| Departure from outward office of exchange | Your package has left China Post's export office, on its way abroad. | Keep an eye on it |
| Customs clearance completed | Customs has checked your package, either in China on the way out or in your country on the way in. | Keep an eye on it |
| Arrival at inward office of exchange | Your package should have reached the post in your country, which now handles customs and delivery. | Normal |
| Delivered but not received | The post in your country has reported delivery, and China Post's page repeats it. | Take action |
| Tracking not updating | China Post tracking often goes quiet after it leaves China, so weeks with nothing new can be normal. | Keep an eye on it |
China Post delays
China Post publishes no transit time on its English pages that we could read, and says nothing there about what causes delays. In histories people share, its tracking usually goes quiet between leaving China and the first scan by the post in your country. One Canadian buyer's list from a slow period for mail, some years old, shows ePacket orders taking 10 to 44 days, with one still missing after 65 days, and that forum's thread puts long waits down to slow customs processing.
Is your package from China Post late or missing?
Who is responsible for a late or missing package from China Post?
A late or missing order from an online seller is in most cases the seller's to put right, because the seller picked China Post and is its customer. China Post's English contact page also leaves formal inquiries on international items to the sender, so as we read it a buyer abroad relies on the seller for that. On a marketplace, its rules come first: AliExpress's Buyer Protection covers an item that did not arrive or was lost in transit, within the guaranteed delivery window on the order page, and Amazon's A-to-z Guarantee covers orders from third-party sellers whose last possible delivery date is 90 days or less ago. A UK order also has section 29 of the Consumer Rights Act, under which goods from a business stay at the seller's risk until you have them, unless you hired a carrier the seller did not offer.
If you posted the package yourself in China, your contract is with China Post, and it says the sender goes to the local post office for a formal inquiry. We found no English terms giving a standard cover amount.
Questions about China Post tracking
What does departure from outward office of exchange mean?
The package has left China Post's export office and is heading abroad. It does not prove a flight has left, and the next scan often comes only in your country.
What does customs clearance completed mean on China Post?
Customs has released the package and it can move on. Check the place in the line, because after a line in China it still has a flight and your own country's customs ahead.
Who delivers China Post packages in the US?
USPS, in the tracking histories we have seen, though those are some years old. China Post publishes no list, and on some orders another carrier may take over.
China Post says delivered but no package. What do I do?
Compare the date and place with your own post's tracking, then look around your home and ask neighbors. If you still have nothing by the end of the day after that date, file a complaint and we send it to China Post.
How long does China Post take to the US?
China Post gives no time on its English pages that we could read, and we found no reliable figure for the US. On one buyer's list from Canada, in a slow period, ePacket orders took 10 to 44 days and one was still missing after 65.
Based on
- China Post: Contact us (tracking sites, formal inquiries go through the sender)
- AliExpress: Buyer Protection (item that did not arrive within the guaranteed delivery window)
- Amazon Help: A-to-z Guarantee (orders from third-party sellers, 90 days)
- legislation.gov.uk: Consumer Rights Act, section 29 (goods stay at the seller's risk until they reach you)