China to promote e-commerce

Beijing: China will promote e-commerce for the farming and agriculture sector, according to an action plan released on Friday.

China will establish sound e-commerce infrastructure and policies while nurturing a batch of influential agricultural e-commerce brands in the next three years, Xinhua news agency quoted the joint plan from the ministries of agriculture and commerce and the National Development Reform Commission as saying.

Farming in China has been booming for more than three decades but has not kept pace with demographic changes and advances in technology.

Inefficient sales channels, a shrinking labour force and financing difficulties have been squeezing farmers` earnings and dragging down the rural economy.

The action plan maps out 20 specific targets including connecting e-commerce platforms to develop agricultural business and expanding market channels to facilitate agricultural e-commerce growth.