China Unveils 2026-2030 Digital Countryside Action Plan to Boost Rural E-Commerce

The Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the Digital Countryside High-Quality Development Action Plan (2026-2030).

The action plan proposes raising the level of rural network infrastructure, deepening universal telecommunications services and the Broadband Border initiative, and advancing 5G and gigabit optical network deployment in rural areas on an as-needed basis. It calls for exploring the use of high-throughput satellites, low-orbit satellite internet, and other means to provide diversified network access services for rural and remote areas. The plan also calls for deepening the Smart Radio and Television Countryside project, accelerating the construction of new radio and television networks, and enriching the supply of basic television reception services and comprehensive information services in rural areas.

In terms of the digital upgrading of traditional rural facilities, the action plan proposes deepening the informatization of rural roads through the one-road-one-file system and improving the application of information technology in rural water supply and irrigation district construction. It encourages areas with the necessary conditions to steadily promote the digital and intelligent transformation of rural power grids and to deploy public charging infrastructure in rural areas. The plan calls for promoting intelligent and green upgrading of cold-chain logistics facilities at agricultural production sites and interconnection of cold-chain nodes, and improving information sharing and coordinated operation in cold-chain logistics. It also calls for advancing comprehensive rural information services and strengthening the integration, sharing, and use of information resources. The plan includes an initiative to improve the quality and efficiency of integrated rural passenger, freight, and postal services, and encourages areas with the necessary conditions to build intelligent agents for integrated passenger, freight, and postal services.

In the area of rural e-commerce, the action plan proposes improving quality and efficiency, deeply implementing the rural e-commerce high-quality development project, building a multi-tier comprehensive rural e-commerce service system, and cultivating diversified new types of rural e-commerce entities. It calls for deeply implementing the Digital Commerce Revitalizes Agriculture initiative and conducting Digital Commerce Revitalizes Agriculture local activities in the central and western regions. The plan calls for advancing the Internet Plus agricultural products out-of-village and into-city project to facilitate the smooth sale of agricultural products. It also calls for optimizing the rural e-commerce circulation system, advancing the digital and intelligent transformation of county-level logistics distribution centers and township express delivery outlets, and promoting low-altitude logistics on an as-needed and orderly basis under the premise of ensuring safety. The plan calls for strengthening the construction of village-level comprehensive delivery and logistics service stations.