Zhejiang sets goals on boosting consumption in rural areas

The Zhejiang provincial government recently published a plan to strengthen the construction of the commerce system in counties and promote consumption in the rural areas over the next five years.

The plan is aimed at raising the availability of industrial products to rural inhabitants and that of agriculture products to city dwellers.

According to the plan, Zhejiang will build or renovate over 500 commerce centers in townships by 2025, ensuring each and every town in the province has at least one commerce complex by then.

Wang Zhongming, director of Circulation and Development Department of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce, said that towns are the hubs of commercial activities in rural areas and the province has been setting goals for the development of modernized commercial activities in towns and villages since as early as 2018.

According to the plan, the commerce complexes will serve rural residents' needs for various consumer products including home appliances, furniture, home decorations, and automobiles, and prompt the upgrade of durables used in rural areas.

The plan also includes concrete goals such as fostering some 50 enterprises engaged in the agricultural product supply chain and ensuring express delivery services are accessible to each village.