When e-commerce goes rural ...

From my 65-year-old mom’s perspective, an unusual shopping deal was clinched in the run-up to the Chinese Lunar New Year festivities in February. She, a farmer, bought me a woolen sweater online.

What made the deal extraordiang nary was that my mom is, shall we say, a bit tech-challenged. Not for her modern stuff like smartphones, digital payments and online shopping.

Having interviewed some local Xiongan villagers recently, I can say my mom is one among many Chinese rural folk who are gradually embracing tech-enabled modern life.

The online purchase, she later told me, saved her the trouble of going out to crowded markets in neighboring villages during peak seasons. She vowed to buy more things online in the future.

Her first online shopping destination was Pinduoduo, which sells goods at a discount and offers group buying.

She was part of a buyer group comprising several fellow villagers, including a young female neighbor adept at e-shopping — the group’s go-to guide. They are all residents of Dongxingzhuang, a village about 30 kilometers away from Shijiazhu- city in North China’s Hebei province.

Oh yes, e-commerce is transforming rural life in China. For instance, in Xiongan, villagers now even have opportunities to receive training in online shopping and how to set up an e-commerce shop.

After Xiongan New Area was established about two years ago, the local government started to provide such free training.

Liu Fei, 31, a resident of Xiaowangying village in Xiongan’s Anxin county, told me he is good at composing pictures of his goods on e-commerce platforms. He received 30-day training in April last year.

“It helps attract customers to my e-shop on Taobao,” said Liu, adding he has also learned how to better manage his shop that sells purses. His annual income increased by 40 percent to 70,000 yuan ($10,434) since he started his e-commerce business four years ago.

About 200 villagers such as Liu received training last year in the same school. There are many such schools in Xiongan.

They buy or sell a range of products and goods on various e-commerce, social media and streaming platforms.

I think the China National Democratic Construction Association hit the nail on its head when it said in its proposal to the country’s top political advisory body during the recent two sessions that “although the e-commerce has developed rapidly in rural areas in recent years, it’s still at an initial stage”.

It also said online purchases are more than sales. But I have no doubt e-commerce can help transform rural areas further by enabling villagers to e-sell farm products, home-made foods like snacks, handicraft and other local specialities.

I am glad the CNDCA proposal also said e-commerce should be further promoted in rural areas.