E-commerce a big boost to Guangxi

Zhongshan county in Hezhou, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, has been rewarded for ramping up its efforts to develop rural e-commerce.

The county has encouraged people to make short videos and broadcast livestreams promoting local specialty agricultural products in concert with e-commerce platforms to drum up sales to a broader range of customers across the country.

Zhongshan has even set up its own e-commerce company and training center, as well as an e-commerce industrial park, to lure prominent e-commerce companies to establish branch operations there.

The county has hosted three e-commerce training sessions so far, involving 282 residents, and has founded five livestreaming training bases.

The county is home to more than 120 online stores, 80 percent of which are set up and operated by young people under the age of 35.

These young people have become a new force in poverty alleviation in Zhongshan, helping create more than 8,000 jobs for locals, according to the county government.

To ensure a stable supply of goods, e-commerce operators in the county work closely with local farmers and cooperatives, helping shore up the development of rural industries and increase local residents' income.

In addition, the county has held two e-commerce promotion events, aimed at strengthening cooperation and exchanges, promoting its agricultural products and boosting the development of local agricultural industries.

By developing the rural e-commerce industry, the county has helped its poor villages increase their total income by more than 15 million yuan ($2.29 million), with a per capita increase of more than 300 yuan, lifting 1,200 households out of poverty.

In 2019, Zhongshan county made more than 56 million yuan from e-commerce.