Livestreaming upgrades e-commerce in rural China

Livestreaming services have become a new way to sell farm produce in China, while the country is upgrading e-commerce networks in rural areas.

Li Xuying, a Taobao shop manager in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, sold out more than 20 tonnes of agaric worth more than 3 million yuan (about $425,000) with two online celebrities Li Jiaqi and Wei Ya on the evening of April 21.

Li said the sale via livestreaming let more people know about the quality farm produce in rural areas.

Statistics show that the livestreaming platform of Taobao, Alibaba's main e-commerce site, have hosted 1.4 million livestreaming shows for sale of farm produce, covering 2,000 counties and districts across China.

This has been made possible by China's investment in rural e-commerce infrastructure.

As of October 2019, 98 percent of Chin's incorporated villages were covered by fiber optic and 4G, while 99 percent of the poor villages were covered by broadband, according to a report issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on April 30.

Currently, 556,000 incorporated villages have access to postal services and more than 30,000 express delivery outlets are operating in rural areas, the report said.

Thanks to government support and the popularization of the Internet, China's e-commerce giants including Alibaba and JD.com are placing greater focus on rural areas to help wipe out poverty.

Alibaba launched in April a plan to build 1,000 digital agriculture bases. It also signed an agreement with the commerce authority of Shaanxi province to broaden sale channels and enhance e-commerce service in rural areas.