Foreign companies will continue to be barred from delivering express letters in China's domestic market, Wang Yuci, vice director of the State Post Bureau, said Friday.

Foreign companies will be limited to sending express packages domestically, and may only send express letters internationally, Wang told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of a press briefing.

State media reported earlier Friday that Chinese lawmakers have approved revisions to the country's legislation on postal services. China has been expected to maintain a ban on domestic express letter delivery by foreign companies.

Companies such as FedEx Corp.(FDX) and United Parcel Service Inc.(UPS) have been lobbying Beijing for years to lift the restrictions.

China's express delivery business had revenue of more than CNY10 billion in the first quarter, more than a third of the country's total postal revenue of CNY25.96 billion, according to latest data from the State Post Bureau.

-Liu Li contributed to this story, Dow Jones Newswires; (8610) 6588-5848; li.liu@dowjones.com