Boosting agriculture through e-commerce development involves taking full advantage of the ability of digital technologies and data resources to enhance rural commerce by making it more digitalised, smart and internet-powered, and promoting high-quality e-commerce development in order to support and promote agricultural production and the vitalisation of rural industries.
Boosting agriculture through e-commerce powers rural commerce development with digital technologies and data elements in accordance with economic laws pertaining to the interconnectivity of commerce and agriculture and the fact that they reinforce each other, with the goal of making agricultural production more digitalised and advancing industrial vitalisation through the digital transformation of agriculture-oriented commerce. The E-commerce Development Outline Corresponding with the 14th Five-Year Plan notes that the "boosting agriculture through e-commerce" project is an upgraded comprehensive rural e-commerce demonstration project focused on improving rural e-commerce infrastructure, upgrading logistics and distribution facilities, promoting online sales of agricultural products, and connecting production and sales.
Driven by the implementation of the "boosting agriculture through e-commerce" project and part of the Chinese government's overall rural e-commerce development plan, the “extending express delivery into villages” project and the "Internet Plus (the name of a strategy consisting of an open-ended equation in which technologies such as cloud computing, big data, and the Internet of Things are applied to industries and undertakings like manufacturing, commerce, banking, agriculture, and rural development as a means of invigorating and advancing them) agricultural products being marketed to buyers in cities" project have been promoting the introduction of e-commerce into rural areas. The "boosting agriculture through e-commerce" project has been playing a positive role in the development of rural e-commerce and even the economies of entire counties.
First, integrating the "boosting agriculture through e-commerce" project with the "extending express delivery logistics into villages" and "Internet Plus agricultural products being marketed to buyers in cities" projects will help e-commerce expand into more rural areas. Second, the campaign will further improve "new infrastructure," e-commerce infrastructure, delivery logistics systems, and three-tier logistics and help distribution systems penetrate into and connect the county, township, and village levels in rural areas. Third, the project will accelerate the integration of e-commerce with primary, secondary, and tertiary industries; promote the digital transformation of agricultural industry chains and supply chains; and facilitate the transformation and upgrade of agriculture and rural vitalisation. Fourth, the campaign will promote the popularisation of new business models, such as short video e-commerce, livestreamed e-commerce, marketing and sales through WeChat mini-programs, and discounted group buying targeted at housing communities; building of online agricultural product brands; creation of farmers' cooperatives, major growing operations, agricultural product enterprises, agricultural product processing enterprises, e-business brokers, and logistics and distribution jobs and companies; and the development of e-commerce services, tourism, the restaurant industry, and homestays in rural areas.
From mentioning "e-commerce" as early as 2005 in that year's No. 1 Central Document to the "boosting agriculture through e-commerce" project in 2022, the central government has grasped rural e-commerce trends and development laws and gradually outlined concepts and ideas pertaining to rural e-commerce development work. Changes in lifestyles and consumption patterns in the digital age are reshaping the rural market, integration of various elements in rural e-commerce ecosystems is being accelerated, and the vast potential of rural e-commerce to promote agricultural production and consumption is being unleashed at a faster pace. E-commerce has been serving as an engine that promotes rural vitalisation and helps modernise agriculture and rural areas during the current, or 14th, Five-Year Plan period, which spans 2021-2025.
Author: Ouyang Rihui, vice president of the China Center for Internet Economy Research, Central University of Finance and Economics
Related Links:
China's No. 1 Central Document for 2022
Review of China's No.1 Central Document (2004-2023)
