China to step up agricultural development through information technology

BEIJING - China will increase the role of information technology in agricultural development, the State Council decided at an executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang Wednesday.

The country will also make efforts to adjust transportation structure to improve efficiency and lower logistic costs, according to the meeting.

A statement issued after the meeting said that to achieve these ends, the country will increase the use of the information technology, such as big data and the Internet of Things, in agricultural production.

E-commerce platforms should enhance cooperation with farmers, family farms, and cooperatives to provide farm produce better access to consumers, it said.

To raise transportation efficiency, the backbone role of railways in commodity freight and long-haul transport should be enhanced, with 60 percent of major seaports expected to be directly linked into the rail network by 2020, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, vigorous efforts will be made to link major ports along the Yangtze river with the rail network, said the statement.

The meeting also decided to accelerate the development of combined transport, including road-rail and waterway-rail, and more will be done to boost rail services for the e-commerce sector.

Information such as the schedules of cargo ships should be shared across platforms so that service efficiency can be improved, said the statement.

It said improper charges or overly high expenses in transportation should be cut, so that logistics costs are reduced.

Authorities should also create a level playing field for emerging businesses in the transportation industry and foster healthy growth of innovative firms, the statement said.