Fosun chief: Boost internet access in the countryside

China's top legislators and political advisors have called for tailor-made poverty alleviation policies and measures as the annual meetings of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference end.

Guo Guangchang, a CPPCC National Committee member and chairman of Fosun Group, suggested that the internet service to rural impoverished regions in China should be improved.

Although life in many rural areas is improving as many people have opened shops online to sell local farm produces, related services remain a problem.

In his proposal, Guo said: "Many companies will not enter the business because of the high cost of traditional service models. Take the car insurance business for example. Most professional institutions will not open subsidiaries in the countryside or impoverished areas because of low population density, leading to a less-developed industry."

However, he noticed that some companies have adopted social media platforms, such as WeChat, to expand insurance services to the countryside.

He said: "Thanks to the development of the mobile internet, the project hires part-time insurance agents in the countryside, many of whom are returned migrant workers. They use internet-based tools to settle claims, reducing the settlement time from 20 days to about three hours."

Guo suggested the China Insurance Regulatory Commission issue policies to encourage insurers and third-party service providers, to attempt innovative insurance models in impoverished areas.

NPC deputy and Zhejiang Guangbo Corp Chairman Wang Liping agreed. He said the internet is "the most effective means to connect resources and the market".

He also suggested an internet-based poverty alleviation information system to target poor people.

Developing tourism with local characteristics is another path leading out of poverty, said Hua Quan, an NPC deputy and Party chief of Wanggang village in Guiyang, Southwest China's Guizhou province.

The per capita annual net income in the village was about 2,000 yuan ($289.9), mostly from farming, until the locals started to develop tourism in 2007. Now the villagers' per capita net income is 12,000 yuan a year.

"We grow green fruits, but instead of selling them on the market, we allow tourists to pick them in the field to let them enjoy the experience of being a farmer," Hua said.

He also said rural tourism has not only increased local people's income, but kept the locals from leaving the area.

In the past, roughly half of the village's young people went to towns to seek jobs, leaving the children and the aged people at home. Now nearly all of them have returned, devoting themselves to developing tourism.

Hua said: "Every village should have a different policy suiting its actual situation. The authority must find the reasons behind poverty before thinking about solutions."

Che Yingxin, a CPPCC National Committee and former chairman of the board of supervisors at the Agricultural Bank of China, said that China, as a major agricultural nation, has a large impoverished population, but the government has been actively learning from international experience to reduce poverty, and has worked out methods that are practical and can be shared worldwide.

zhangzhao@chinadaily.com.cn