Villagers use Rural Taobao platform to trade in agricultural products, Zhang Zhao reports.

China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and third-party payment platform Ant Financial Services Group signed an agreement with the government of Sichuan province late last month to cooperate in a wide range of businesses including cloud computing, big data, e-commerce, logistical networks, tourism and credit systems.

Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma said that new retail and financing models, new manufacturing technologies and new energy solutions will influence many traditional industries over the next 30 years, and the company will be involved in Sichuan's poverty relief work by developing e-commerce in the countryside.

Among the 183 counties in Sichuan province, 24 have access to the company's Rural Taobao online shopping platform, according to Ma.

He said the Rural Taobao platform has already covered more than 23,000 villages nationwide. In many countryside areas, people have harnessed the power of e-commerce to lift themselves out of poverty.

Wang Dongming, Party chief of Sichuan province, said there is big potential for e-commerce in rural areas, resulting in its increasingly important role in modern poverty relief work.

There are currently 2.72 million impoverished people in the province's rural areas. The number will be reduced by 1.05 million by the end of this year, when 16 counties and 3,700 villages will be removed from the poverty list, according to a plan unveiled by the Sichuan provincial Party committee.

Alibaba and Ant Financial Services regard Sichuan as their headquarters in western China. Last year, the two companies invested a total of 3.16 billion yuan ($458.2 million) in Sichuan.

In Yuhe village in the Chuanshan district of Sichuan's Suining city, villager Tang Zhiyu became a Rural Taobao partner in November 2016, helping other villagers to buy and deliver fertilizer, seeds, agricultural machinery and home appliances online.

The turnover of his shop exceeded 10,000 yuan on the first day, and profits reach more than 1,000 yuan every month.

"Thanks to the preferential local poverty relief policy, I can enjoy two years of free housing. The government helped me to promote my business and Taobao Group offered home decorations and equipment," Tang said.

"Now I want to continue the business," he added.

An integrated logistical system that combines the urban and rural areas in Chuanshan district has been established, with a rural e-commerce operation center and 70 service stations in the countryside.

The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation has also been conducting e-commerce programs in Sichuan since September 2014, encouraging the impoverished population to develop local specialty products and promote them on the internet.

The production and sales of Shimian tangerines, Hanyuan cherries and Mengdingshan kiwi fruits were some of the first projects.

In March 2016, Shimian tangerines were sold to many e-commerce platforms. The trade volume reached 1.28 million yuan in the first four days, according to Wang Zhiwei, director-general of the tangerine cooperative in Pingyang township of Shimian county.

The provincial government of Sichuan has planned to build at least 10 model counties this year using e-commerce to help local residents escape poverty. The pilot counties will attempt to develop innovative policies and public services, help to build supply and logistical systems, and establish product quality standards and personnel training programs.

The e-commerce model will cover all 88 impoverished counties in the province by 2020, said the Sichuan Provincial Department of Commerce.

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(China Daily 03/09/2017 page18)