Internet to prop fight against poverty in Guizhou

The Poverty Reduction Conference by E-commerce was held in Guiyang on Aug 30, to promote e-commerce as a new force in poverty alleviation.

The Poverty Reduction Conference by E-commerce is held in Guiyang on Aug 30. [Photo/gog.cn]

Government officials, experts and business people from China's tech giants, such as the Alibaba Group, attended the conference to discuss the potential of integrating the internet with the province's fight against poverty.

Internet Plus poverty alleviation is the new model for poverty reduction in the region, providing more opportunities for people in rural areas.

"We should sell agricultural products from the countryside through the internet to increase rural incomes," said Lu Yongzheng, deputy governor of Guizhou province.

Lu Yongzheng, deputy governor of Guizhou province, gives a speech at the conference. [Photo/gog.cn]

In 2016, Guizhou set up 56 county-level e-commerce service centers. The amount of e-commerce service points in villages reached 6,949. Website startups increased to 51,000 with an annual turnover of 143.6 billion yuan ($21.73 billion), growing 34.7 percent year-on-year.

In recent years, Guizhou has focused on ecological and sustainable development to sell agricultural product through e-commerce. The agricultural and poverty relief channels launched at the conference will give further impetus to poverty reduction in Guizhou.

Officials launch a cooperation project with the Alibaba Group to help sell agricultural products from Guizhou province online. [Photo/gog.cn]