Startups shoot up in rural China, challenges remain

Many people are motivated to return home by the connections they have there.

"When you are in your hometown, you have acquaintances, and acquaintances mean business," said Gao Mingjun, a migrant worker who returned to Dingxi City in Gansu.

Wu Zhaohui, a business official in Guizhou's Tongren city, said government policies, the Internet and e-commerce in rural China all help to make returning home an attractive idea.

"When you do businesses at home, you have your family members around, which offers a strong support system," Wu said. "This is what migrant workers usually don't have in big cities."

Stumbling blocks

Despite all the advantages of entrepreneurship in the countryside, the picture is not all rosy. Poor infrastructure, expensive talent and high costs are stumbling blocks that remain in the way.

Tu Wuye, who runs a metalwork company in Guangxi's Lipu county, said it is difficult to send his hardware products to other places in the country because logistics lag behind development.

"There is no expressway in Lipu currently, which hampers the development of our company," Tu said.

Many people also complained of the trouble of hiring talent amid rising labor costs. Some startup companies interviewed by Xinhua in Guangxi even reported a 50-percent labor shortage.

"As a startup, our business is a bit risky in the beginning and our benefits are quite limited," said a migrant worker who has started an agricultural product processing company in Guangxi. "So it is important to think about how to lower the cost and improve benefits."

Dang Guoying, a rural economy expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said it is important to improve the rural environment for entrepreneurship in the countryside by enhancing infrastructure.

"The government should also provide more guidance on the market and on business management," the academic said. He added that more training sessions should be held to help migrant workers overcome difficulties.

"Only in this way can we truly cultivate sustainable businesses in rural China," he said.