Suning sets out plans to fight poverty in Gansu

Updated: 2016-03-03
By Du Juanin Xi'an ( China Daily )

Initiative includes building e-commerce service center network in the province

Suning Commerce Group Co, China's largest electronics retailer, is investing 10 billion yuan ($1.53 billion) in poverty relief in northwestern China's Gansu province over the next five years.

The country's famed Silk Road trading route runs through Gansu, and since the launch of the government's Belt and Road Initiative, the province has benefited from various economic efforts, particularly those targeting the e-commerce and logistics sectors.

The provincial government has also been rolling out subsidy schemes to develop its e-commerce industry.

Suning has already signed an agreement with the Gansu government to open 25 new stores and 80 direct-sale stores in the province, with an emphasis on poorer places, said its President Zhang Jindong, who said Gansu is a key strategic market for his company.

"During the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), Suning will expand its online businesses in Gansu, helping its remotest areas to upgrade their retail offerings," he said.

"The plan includes building three Suning centers which will provide online to offline services to residents in the province."

Suning will also provide free e-commerce training for up to 100,000 people and plans to hire around 1,000 village representatives from them who can help local people shop online.

"Educating people in rural areas on e-commerce will accelerate the process of selling agricultural produce online," Zhang said.

Liu Weiping, the governor of Gansu, said Suning's business model should be copied by others in the province.

"Helped by Suning's online platform, logistics and financial services, Gansu's economic efficiency will be greatly improved," he said.

Encouraged by the central government's Internet Plus strategy, several of the country's e-commerce giants have been expanding their presence in rural areas, many of which offer huge sales potential, as well as bringing much-needed jobs to remote communities.

Last month, the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's economic planner, and Internet giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd signed an agreement to help some counties develop their e-commerce services over the next three years.

The major component in that plan will be developing rural logistics infrastructure and training local people.

Sun Lijun, Alibaba's vice-president, said it will build about 300 county-level service centers and 30,000 village sites to help cultivate local skills and jobs.

During the recent Chinese Lunar New Year, Alibaba also provided free train tickets to thousands of migrant workers to go home.

It has also been working with farmers in provinces including Shaanxi, Guizhou and Jiangxi to sell their produce online.

dujuan@chinadaily.com.cn