Xixian county in Shanxi province established a rural e-commerce training base on Nov 20 to help locals improve their living standards and boost the economy.

Xixian plans to turn itself into the largest e-commerce training base in North China. The training base covers an area of 1,700 square meters and consists of a multifunctional training room where 55 people can conduct e-commerce operations at the same time, a lecture room which can house 200 trainees and several offices for communication and consultation.

Wang Xiaobin, head of Xixian county, makes a speech at the launching ceremony for a rural e-commerce training base on Nov 20. [Photo/sx.people.com.cn]

"Rural e-commerce has sprung up as more companies in this field are pouring into villages. Xixian has to innovate and develop e-businesses through training local residents and learning from the advanced models in developed regions," said Qu Tianjun, at the launching ceremony of the training base, an inspector from the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.

To facilitate the education of trainees, the local government has introduced professionals and cooperated with businesses from other regions. In 2016, a rural e-commerce training institution was set up by local Yuluxiang Internet Technology Co and Zhejiang Xunwei E-business Co with the support of the Xixian authority. Some 60 instructors in the e-commerce industry were invited to help local farmers master related skills and enable them to sell produce in a more efficient and convenient way, solidifying the economic partnership between the county and other areas.

A lecturer teaches trainees in Xixian county how to develop e-commerce businesses in rural areas on Nov 20. [Photo/sxgov.cn]

The county has been developing the rural e-commerce project since 2014. It now has a provincial makerspace –– Xixian E-commerce Incubation Base. There are 508 startup groups and 13 entrepreneurship mentors on duty at the base. More than 100 e-commerce service stations, 22 companies and 78 rural economic cooperatives have settled in the incubator. Xixian farm produce totaling 3,220 tons has been sold through local e-commerce platforms in 2016, achieving 15 million yuan ($2.17 million) in sales.

Officials from Linfen, Shanxi and the central government inspect Xixian E-commerce Incubation Base, one of provincial makerspaces in Shanxi, on Nov 20. [Photo/sx.people.com.cn]