File photo: CGTN

E-commerce has maintained a high growth rate in China's rural regions and played an increasingly important role in promoting rural development, according to a latest research report.

The report was released by the research group of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce.

It shows that thanks to the direct access to both supply and demand, e-commerce in rural regions has effectively reduced transaction costs and improved transaction efficiency, thus bringing new vitality to rural production, promoting agricultural industrialization and large-scale development, as well as increasing farmers' income and employment.

Acting as a medium, online commerce helps to open up sales channels for local characteristic agricultural products, allowing them to be directly delivered from the field to consumers all around the country.

The report also believes that e-commerce promotes the two-way flow of industrial products and improves the lives of farmers.

On the one hand, online commerce provides farmers with more industrial products and meets the needs of consumption upgrading in rural areas. On the other hand, it promotes the sales of rural industrial products in developed areas.

In order to further promote rural development through e-commerce, the report also recommends that channels for the effective circulation of high-quality agricultural products from rural areas to cities be built, the organization and construction of exhibitions, specialty stores, and experience stores be strengthened, and cooperation agreements be signed with large-scale e-commerce platforms to build effective online sales platforms.