According to the preliminary estimates of National Bureau of Statistics of China, the gross domestic product (GDP) of China was 72,278.6 billion yuan in the first three quarters, a year-on-year growth of 0.7% at comparable prices.

The GDP for the first quarter declined by 6.8% year on year, increased by 3.2% for the second quarter, and up by 4.9% for the third quarter of 2020.

By industry, the value-added of the primary industry was 4,812.3 billion yuan, up by 2.3 percent year on year; that of the secondary industry was 27,426.7 billion yuan, up by 0.9 percent; and that of the tertiary industry was 40,039.7 billion yuan, up by 0.4 percent.

The GDP for the third quarter grew by 2.7% quarter on quarter.

Check out China retail sales in Q3 here.

Agricultural Production

In the first three quarters, the value-added of agriculture (crop farming) grew by 3.8% year on year, the same as that of the first half of the year. Specifically, that of the third quarter grew by 3.9%.

The total output of summer grain and early rice totaled 170.10 million tons, a year-on-year growth of 2.24 million tons. The sown area for autumn grain was stable with an increase, major crops for autumn grain grew well and another bumper harvest is expected for autumn grain.

The planting structure was further optimized, with the sown areas of quality rice and soybean continuing to expand. In the first three quarters, the output of milk grew by 8.1%, and that of eggs grew by 5.1%.

The output of pork, beef, mutton and poultry dropped by 4.7%, a decline narrowed by 6.1 percentage points compared with that of the first half of this year.

Specifically, the output of poultry grew by 6.5%, and output of beef, mutton and pork dropped by 1.7%, 1.8% and 10.8% respectively, a decline narrowed by 1.7 percentage points, 0.7 percentage points and 8.3 percentage points compared with that of the first half of this year.

The pork production capacity gradually recovered. By the end of the third quarter, 370.39 million pigs were registered in stock, up by 20.7% year on year, among which, 38.22 million were breeding sows, up by 28.0%.

Check out China’s CPI from January to September 2020.

Industrial Production

In the first three quarters, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 1.2% year on year, while that of the first half of this year was down by 1.3%. Specifically, that of the third quarter grew by 5.8% year on year, 1.4 percentage points faster than that of the second quarter.

In September, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 6.9% year on year, growing for the sixth consecutive month, or 1.3 percentage points faster than the growth of August, with the month-on-month growth registering 1.18%.

An analysis by types of ownership showed that, in the first three quarters, the value-added of the state holding enterprises grew by 0.9% year on year; that of share-holding enterprises up by 1.5 percent; that of enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan up by 0.3 percent; and that of private enterprises up by 2.1%.

In terms of sector, the value-added of mining went down by 0.6% year on year, a decline narrowed by 0.5 percentage points compared with that of the first half of this year; manufacturing up by 1.7% and the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water up by 0.8%, compared with a decline of 1.4% and 0.9% respectively in the first half of this year.

In the first three quarters, the value-added of high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing grew by 5.9% and 4.7% year on year.

In terms of the output of products, in the first three quarters, the production of trucks, excavators, and shoveling machinery, industrial robots, and integrated circuits grew by 23.4%, 20.2%, 18.2% and 14.7% year on year respectively.

In the first eight months, the total profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size totaled 3,716.7 billion yuan, down by 4.4% year on year, a decline narrowed by 3.7 percentage points compared with that of the first seven months.

The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index stood at 51.5% in September, 0.5 percentage points higher than that of August, staying above the threshold for seven consecutive months.

Service Sector

In the third quarter, the total value added of the tertiary industry grew by 4.3%, or 2.4 percentage points faster than that of the second quarter.

In the first three quarters, of modern service industries, the value-added of the information transmission, software and information technology services, and financial services grew by 15.9% and 7.0% respectively, or 1.4 percentage points and 0.4 percentage points higher than that of the first half of this year.

The Index of Services Production dropped by 2.6% year on year, a decline narrowed by 3.5 percentage points compared with that of the first half of the year; specifically, that of September grew by 5.4%, 1.4 percentage points faster than that of August.

In September, the Business Activity Index for services was 55.2%, 0.9 percentage points higher than that of August. Specifically, the Business Activity Index for transportation, telecommunication, internet and software, and accommodation and catering all stayed above 60%. In terms of market expectation, the Business Activities Expectation Index for service was 62.2%, 0.9 percentage points higher than that August.

Investment in Fixed Assets Shifted from Negative to Positive

In the first three quarters, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) reached 43,653.0 billion yuan, up by 0.8% year on year, shifting from negative to positive for the first time in 2020, while that of the first half of this year was down by 3.1%.

• the investment in infrastructure grew by 0.2%, shifting from negative to positive for the first time in 2020, while that of the first half of 2020 was down by 2.7 percent;
• the investment in manufacturing dropped by 6.5%, a decline narrowed by 5.2 percentage points compared with that of the first half of 2020;
• the investment in real estate development grew by 5.6%, 3.7 percentage points faster than that of the first half of 2020.

The floor space of commercial buildings sold reached 1,170.73 million square meters, down by 1.8%, a decline narrowed by 6.6 percentage points compared with that of the first half of 2020; and the total sales of commercial buildings were 11,564.7 billion yuan, up by 3.7%, while that of the first half of 2020 were down by 5.4%.

The investment in China’s primary industry grew by 14.5%, a growth of 10.7 percentage points higher than that of the first half of the year; the secondary industry down by 3.4%, a decline narrowed by 4.9 percentage points compared with that of the first half of the year; the tertiary industry up by 2.3%, while that of the first half was down by 1.0%.

The private investment reached 24,399.8 billion yuan, down by 1.5%, a decline narrowed by 5.8 percentage points compared with that of the first half of 2020.

The investment in the high-tech industry grew by 9.1%, 2.8 percentage points faster than that of the first half of 2020. Of the total, the investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services grew by 9.3% and 8.7% respectively.

In terms of high-tech manufacturing, the investment in pharmaceutical manufacturing, manufacturing of computers and office devices grew by 21.2% and 9.3% respectively.

In terms of high-tech services, the investment in e-commerce services, information services and services for commercialization of research findings grew by 20.4%, 16.9% and 16.8%.

The investment in social sectors grew by 9.2%, 3.9 percentage points higher than that of the first half of 2020. Of the total, the investment in health sector and education sector grew by 20.3% and 12.7% respectively, or 5.1 percentage points and 1.9 percentage points faster than that of the first half of 2020.

In September, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) grew by 3.37% month on month.

Imports and Exports

In the first three quarters, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 23,115.1 billion yuan, up by 0.7% year on year, shifting from negative to positive for the first time in 2020; specifically, that of the third quarter grew by 7.5% year on year, while the that of the second quarter was down by 0.2%.

The value of exports was 12,710.3 billion yuan, up by 1.8%, and the value of imports was 10,404.8 billion yuan, down by 0.6%. The trade balance was 2,305.4 billion yuan in surplus.

In September, the total value of imports and exports was 3,066.3 billion yuan, up by 10.0% year on year. The value of exports was 1,662.0 billion yuan, up by 8.7 percent; the value of imports was 1,404.3 billion yuan, up by 11.6%.

The trade structure continued to optimize. In the first three quarters, the import and export of general trade accounted for 60.2% of the total value of the imports and exports, 0.8 percentage points higher than the same period of last year.

The exports of mechanical and electrical products grew by 3.2%, while that of the first half of 2020 was down by 2.3%. The imports and exports by private enterprises grew by 10.2%, accounting for 46.1% of the total imports and exports, 4 percentage points higher than the same period of last year.

Employment

In the first three quarters, the newly increased employed people in urban areas totaled 8.89 million, accomplishing 99.8% of the whole-year target.

In September, the urban surveyed unemployment rate was 5.4%, 0.2 percentage points lower than that of August. Specifically, the surveyed unemployment rate of population aged from 25 to 59 was 4.8%, 0.6 percentage points lower than the urban surveyed unemployment rate, the same as that of August.

The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.5%, 0.2 percentage points lower than that of August.

The employees of enterprises worked averagely 46.8 hours per week. By the end of the third quarter, the number of rural migrant workers reached 179.52 million, 3.84 million less than that of the same period last year, down by 2.1% year on year.

Residents Income

In the first three quarters, the nationwide per capita disposable income of residents was 23,781 yuan, a nominal increase of 3.9% year on year, or a real increase of 0.6% after deducting price factors, shifting from negative to positive for the first time in 2020 as that of the first half of 2020 was down by 1.3%.

In terms of permanent residence, the per capita disposable income of urban households was 32,821 yuan, a nominal increase of 2.8%, or a real decrease of 0.3%.

The per capita disposable income of rural households was 12,297 yuan, a nominal increase of 5.8%, or a real increase of 1.6%.

The per capita disposable income of urban households was 2.67 times that of rural households, 0.08 less than that of the same period last year. The median of the nationwide per capita disposable income was 20,512 yuan, a nominal increase of 3.2% year on year.

China saw its first positive quarterly growth in consumer retail sales in Q3 2020

China’s GDP reached 45,661.4 billion yuan in the first half of 2020, a year-on-year decline of 1.6% at comparable prices.

The value-added of the primary industry was 2,605.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 0.9 percent; that of the secondary industry was 17,275.9 billion yuan, down by 1.9 percent; and that of the tertiary industry was 25,780.2 billion yuan, down by 1.6 percent.

Agricultural Production

In H1 of 2020, the value-added of agriculture (crop farming) grew by 3.8% year on year, 0.3 percentage point higher than that in the first quarter; specifically, the figure grew by 3.9% in the second quarter, 0.4 percentage point higher than the growth in the first quarter.

The overall output of summer grain was 142.81 million tons, an increase of 1.21 million tons over that of the previous year, up by 0.9%. The structure of crop farming was further optimized, as the sown area for cash crops such as rapeseed increased.

In H1, the output of milk grew by 7.9% year on year and that of eggs grew by 7.1%. The output of pork, beef, mutton, and poultry fell by 10.8%, the decrease of which narrowed by 8.7 percentage points compared with that of the first quarter.

Specifically, the output of poultry increased by 6.8%, up by 5.7 percentage points; that of mutton, beef and pork dropped by 2.5%, 3.4%, and 19.1% respectively, the decrease of which narrowed by 5.2 percentage points, 3.0 percentage points, and 10.0 percentage points respectively.

The pig production capacity continued to recover. By the end of the second quarter, 339.96 million pigs were registered in stock, an increase of 5.8% over that by the end of the first quarter, among which 36.29 million were breeding sows, up by 5.4% year on year, an increase of 7.3% over that by the end of the first quarter.

Industrial Production and High-tech Manufacturing

In H1, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size declined by 1.3% year on year, 7.1 percentage points slower than the decline of the first quarter; specifically, the figure grew by 4.4% in the second quarter and declined by 8.4% in the first quarter.

In June, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 4.8% year on year, 0.4 percentage point faster than that of May, growing for the third month in a row, or up by 1.3 percent month on month.

An analysis by types of ownership showed that the value-added of the state holding enterprises went down by 1.5% year on year; that of share-holding enterprises down by 0.8 percent; enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan down by 3.4 percent; and private enterprises down by 0.1%.

In terms of sectors, the value-added of the mining went down by 1.1%, the manufacturing down by 1.4% and the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water declined by 0.9%, 0.6 percentage point, 8.8 percentage points, and 4.3 percentage points slower than the decline of the first quarter respectively.

The value-added of high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing grew by 4.5% and 0.4% respectively In H1; specifically, the figures went up by 10.0% and 9.7% respectively in June.

The output of some engineering machinery and new products witnessed fast growth. In H1, the production of excavators and shoveling machinery, integrated circuits, industrial robots, and trucks grew by 16.7%, 16.4%, 10.3%, and 8.4% year on year respectively.

In the first five months of 2020, the total profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size totaled 1,843.5 billion yuan, down by 19.3% year on year, the decline of which continued to narrow.

Specifically, the figure went up by 6.0% year on year in May, while that in April went down by 4.3%. The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index stood at 50.9% in June, 0.3 percentage point higher than that of the previous month, staying above the threshold for the fourth consecutive month.

Service Sector

In H1, the total value added of the tertiary industry dropped year on year, 3.6 percentage points less than the decline of the first quarter; specifically, the figure grew by 1.9% in the second quarter and dropped by 5.2% in the first quarter.

By sectors, the value-added of information transmission, software and information technology and that of financial services grew by 14.5% and 6.6% respectively; wholesale and retail trades, accommodation and catering declined by 8.1% and 26.8% respectively, 9.7 percentage points and 8.5 percentage points slower than the decline in the first quarter.

In H1 of 2020, the Index of Services Production decreased by 6.1% year on year, 5.6 percentage points slower than the decline of the first quarter; specifically, the figure in June grew by 2.3%, 1.3 percentage points higher than that in May.

In the first five months, business revenue of service enterprises above the designated size dropped by 6.4%, the decline of which narrowed by 2.2 percentage points compared with that in the first four months; specifically, that of information transmission, software, and information technology services grew by 8.4%.

In June, the Business Activity Index for services was 53.4%, 1.1 percentage points higher than that in May.

Specifically, the Business Activity Index for railway transportation, road transportation, air transportation, postal services, telecommunication, broadcast, television satellite transmission services, internet, software and information services, monetary and financial services, capital market services, and insurance stood at 55.0% and above.

In terms of market expectations, the Business Activity Expectation Index for services was 59.0%.

Investment

In H1, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) reached 28,160.3 billion yuan, down by 3.1% year on year, the decline of which narrowed by 3.2 percentage points compared with that in the first five months, or 13.0 percentage points compared with that in the first quarter.

Specifically, the investment in infrastructure was down by 2.7% and that in manufacturing down by 11.7%, the decline of which narrowed by 17.0 percentage points and 13.5 percentage points respectively compared with that in the first quarter; real estate development went up by 1.9% and down by 7.7% in the first quarter.

The floor space of commercial buildings sold reached 694.04 million square meters, down by 8.4%, and the total sales of commercial buildings were 6,689.5 billion yuan, down by 5.4%, 17.9 percentage points, and 19.3 percentage points slower than the decline in the first quarter respectively.

By industries, the investment in the primary industry grew by 3.8% despite a decline of 13.8% in the first quarter; that in the secondary industry went down by 8.3% and that in the tertiary industry down by 1.0%, 13.6 percentage points and 12.5 percentage points less than the decline in the first quarter respectively.

Private investment reached 15,786.7 billion yuan, down by 7.3%, 11.5 percentage points slower than the decline in the first quarter.

The investment in high-tech industries went up by 6.3%, while that in the first quarter went down by 12.1 percent; specifically, the investment in high-tech manufacturing industries and high-tech services went up by 5.8% and 7.2% respectively.

In terms of high-tech manufacturing, investment in pharmaceutical manufacturing and the manufacturing of computers and office devices grew by 13.6% and 8.2% respectively.

In terms of high-tech services, the investment in services for e-commerce services and commercialization of scientific and technological research findings grew by 32.0% and 21.8% respectively.

The investment in the social sector increased by 5.3%, while that declined by 8.8% in the first quarter.

Specifically, the investment in the health sector and education sector grew by 15.2% and 10.8% respectively, despite a decline of 0.9% and 4.0% in the first quarter. In June, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) grew by 5.91% month on month.

Imports and Exports

In H1, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 14,237.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year decline of 3.2%, 3.3 percentage points slower than the decline in the first quarter; specifically, that in the second quarter dropped by 0.2%, and that in the first quarter dropped by 6.5%.

The total value of exports was 7,713.4 billion yuan, down by 3.0 percent; the total value of imports was 6,524.5 billion yuan, down by 3.3%. The trade balance was 1,188.9 billion yuan in surplus.

In H1, the import and export of general trade accounted for 60.1% of the total value of the imports and exports, an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared with that in the same period last year.

The exports of mechanical and electronic products accounted for 58.6% of the total value of exports, an increase of 0.5 percentage points compared with the same period last year.

In June, the total value of imports and exports was 2,697.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%. The total value of exports was 1,513.1 billion yuan, up by 4.3%, and the total value of imports was 1,184.2 billion yuan, up by 6.2%.

In H1, the export delivery value of industrial enterprises above the designated size reached 5,425.0 billion yuan, a year-on-year decline of 4.9%, 5.4 percentage points slower than the decline in the first quarter. In June, the export delivery value of industrial enterprises above the designated size shifted from a year-on-year decline of 1.4% in May to a growth of 2.6%.

Consumer Price

In H1, the consumer price went up by 3.8% year on year, 1.1 percentage points lower than that in the first quarter. Specifically, the price went up by 3.6% in urban areas and up by 4.7% in rural areas.

Grouped by commodity categories, prices for food, tobacco and alcohol went up by 12.2% year on year; clothing down by 0.1 percent; housing down by 0.1 percent; articles and services for daily use up by 0.1 percent; transportation and communication down by 3.2 percent; education, culture and recreation up by 2.0 percent; medical services and health care up by 2.1 percent; other articles and services up by 5.0%.

In terms of food, tobacco and alcohol prices, prices for grain went up by 1.0%, fresh vegetables up by 3.4 percent; pork up by 104.3%, 18.2 percentage points lower than that in the first quarter. Core CPI excluding the price of food and energy went up by 1.2%. In June, the consumer price went up by 2.5% year on year, and down by 0.1% month on month.

In H1, the producer prices for industrial products went down by 1.9% year on year. The figure in June dropped by 3.0% year on year, or up by 0.4% month on month. In H1, the purchasing prices for industrial producers went down by 2.6% year on year. The figure in June dropped by 4.4% year on year and up by 0.4% month on month.

Unemployment Rate

In H1, the newly increased employed people in urban areas totaled 5.64 million, accounting for 62.7% of the whole-year target.

In June, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas was 5.7%, 0.2 percentage point lower than that in May. Specifically, the surveyed unemployment rate of the population aged from 25 to 59 was 5.2%, 0.5 percentage point lower than that of the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas, or 0.2 percentage point lower than that in May.

The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.8%, 0.1 percentage point lower than that in the previous month. The employees of enterprises worked averagely 46.8 hours per week. By the end of the second quarter, the number of rural migrant workers reached 177.52 million.

Residents’ Real Income

In H1, the nationwide per capita disposable income of residents was 15,666 yuan, a nominal growth of 2.4% year on year, 1.6 percentage points faster than that in the first quarter, or a real decrease of 1.3% after deducting price factors, a decrease of which narrowed by 2.6 percentage points.

In terms of permanent residence, the per capita disposable income of urban households was 21,655 yuan, a nominal growth of 1.5%, or a real decrease of 2.0 percent.

The per capita disposable income of rural households was 8,069 yuan, a nominal growth of 3.7%, or a real decrease of 1.0%. By sources of income, the nationwide per capita wage income went up by 2.5% in nominal terms, net operating income down by 5.1%, net property income up by 4.2%, and net transfer income up by 8.2%.

The per capita disposable income of urban households was 2.68 times that of the rural households, 0.06 less than that of the same period last year. The median of the nationwide per capita disposable income was 13,347 yuan, a nominal increase of 0.5% year on year.

Check out retail sales and CPI here.

Taobao will leverage its live streaming technology to help incubate 1,000 key opinion leaders in China’s countryside in an effort to boost rural development according to Alibaba. By helping farmers go online, Taobao aims to enable farmers to find new markets and customers from their homegrown products.

Taobao’s target is to boost the livelihood of 1,000 farmer live broadcasters from 100 counties in China by helping them each generate over RMB10,000 in monthly income.

The idea is to drive online sales of local agricultural products via live broadcasting conducted by the newly minted rural KOLs – the farmers, themselves. To promote this new initiative, Taobao plans collaboration with county-level governments to highlight local points of interest and expand the popularity and recognition of various villages participating in the live streaming.

Our rural live streaming program aims to empower local live video broadcasters to boost business for poverty-stricken areas while enabling farmers to manage their own live streaming e-commerce channels.

It’s Taobao’s devotion to poverty relief by leveraging e-commerce and live streaming via creative digital technologies.

said Chen Lei, director of e-commerce content at Taobao.

Last year, Taobao hosted more than 150,000 agriculture-themed broadcasts, which drew over 400 million viewers.

Taobao innovated the “Live on the Farm” model, featured with agriculture livestreamers, KOLs, and even local government officials from counties to join live broadcasting sessions and promote their local goods.

In January 2019, Taobao’s “Live on the Farm” seven-day online sales campaign generated over RMB9.35 million in sales, right ahead of Chinese New Year, a prime gifting period in China.

Many agriculture live broadcasters tasted their first success on the platform last year, including Chen Jiubei, who has helped farmers in her hometown in Hunan province sell up to 2 million kilograms of previously unsaleable oranges in just 13 days last winter.

Taobao also coordinated with county-level governments to provide a suite of live streaming marketing services, including seeking out and training live broadcasters, as well as identifying local selling points. With more than 60,000 distinct live streams on agricultural products every month, Taobao is committed to driving RMB3 billion in sales for the sector in 2019.

This month, Taobao will roll out live streams that introduce the source of a range of agricultural products, helping viewers discover the local landscape and customs where their products come from.

In addition, Taobao also plans to partner with CCTV, Hunan Television and Zhejiang Television to develop live streaming shows that invite pop stars and celebrities to participate in poverty-relief activities, aiming to generate more public awareness for underprivileged areas.

About Taobao Live

Taobao live streaming is an emerging marketing channel that started in 2016 and has rapidly grown into a proven marketing strategy. Powered by advanced technologies from across the Alibaba Group, KOLs and live broadcasters provide both indoor and outdoor live streaming to customers.

During these live streams, they introduce and recommend different products across diverse areas ranging from clothing, cosmetics, and jewelry, to agriculture goods and plus-sized clothes.

In 2018, 81 live broadcasters notched over RMB 100 million in sales, respectively.

Across all industries and sectors in China, brands and sellers are already transforming their digital capabilities to stimulate business development through Taobao live streaming.

L’Oréal’s flagship store experienced a nearly 20% increase in purchases after Viya and Jiaqi Li, Taobao’s most recognized live broadcasters promoted the brand’s signature goods via live stream.

Among the top female clothing brands, more than 30% of sales are driven by live streaming. In certain industries such as jewelry and jade, flowers and plants, the penetration rate of brands using Taobao live streaming is close to 50%, bringing great changes to the previous online marketing mix that was adopted.

Live streaming serves as an efficient tool to empower traditional industries and drive sales.

During the “Double 12 Shopping Festival” in 2018, Taobao organized a 12-day live broadcasting event from once-booming industrial belts to rejuvenate traditional businesses with cutting-edge technologies and powerful new modes of retail operation.

Live broadcasters were everywhere from an agricultural products base in Sichuan and porcelain production firm in Jingdezhen to a home textiles mall in Nantong and leather factory in Haining, bringing a growing number of young customers to forgotten industrial towns.

In order to inject more renewed energy into traditional industries, Taobao also launched plans at the recent summit to incubate and develop 10 offline traditional retail markets. The aspiration is to help them reach annual revenues of over RMB 100 million.

Other initiatives that are being rolled out to maximize the influence of live streaming includes developing 10 professional PGC (Professional Generated Content) organizations with over RMB 100 million revenues, creating 10 super programs with more than 100 million views and promoting over 100 regional television stations to collaborate with Tao Live, an app focused on PGC area.

Have you utilized live video broadcasting for your China e-commerce sales?

China B2B e-commerce market reached 5.48 billion yuan in Q1 2015 and 6.39 billion yuan in Q4 2015 according to Analysis.

A quick overview on China’s overall economy in the past year:

China PPI decreased by 5.9%year-on-year in 2015.

The manufacture accounted for 76.8% of total industrial output value in 2014.

China B2B Market Overview

China B2B e-commerce had attracted investment of over 5 billion yuan in 2015 with a year-on-year increase of 699%. The total rounds of investment reached 103 in 2015, comparing with only 24 rounds in 2014.

Agriculture segment accounted for 28% of total B2B investment received in 2015.

The transaction of China B2B e-commerce market reached 11.8 trillion yuan in 2015 and is estimated to reach 18.5 trillion yuan in 2018 with stable growth. China e-commerce market reached 15 trillion yuan in 2015 and 69% came from the B2B market according to Alibaba.

Small and medium size enterprises (SME) is the biggest part of China e-commerce market, followed by designated sized enterprises (27.9%) and online shopping (23.1%) .

The transaction of SME in 2015 was 7.2 trillion yuan with 17.1% year-on-year growth.

The SME B2B e-commerce down to 61% in 2015 and is predicted to maintain decreasing, while above designated size enterprises B2B e-commerce increased to 39.8% in 2015 and is predicted to keep a steady growth in the next few years.

Overseas new users increased rapidly on Alibaba.com in 2015, particularly in Europe, America, and the Middle East. Domestic merchants on 1688.com spent much time online and CXT users spent 47 hours on average in receiving their first orders in 2015 according to Alibaba. Alibaba is predicted to keep growth in sales and users in 2016. Read more from Alibaba research here.

In 2013, the e-commerce transaction value of China’s agricultural products exceeded RMB50 billion (US$8.17 billion), said Chen Xiaohua, China’s Vice Agriculture Minister. Informatization has great influence on accelerating transformation of agriculture and developing modern agriculture in China.

China has made positive progress in agricultural informatization in recent years. China agricultural information service system involves over 40,000 agriculture-related sites and 12316 hotlines, covering one third of Chinese farmers.

As of 2013, 3G network covered all towns in China and 91% incorporated villages. In China’s rural areas, over 47 million families have access to broadband with 177 million Internet users. Every household on average owns two mobile phonesin rural areas. It is said that there are over 3,000 agricultural e-commerce platforms set up in China.

Besides, growth in online shopping in counties and villages in China has outpaced those in cities, becoming a new engine that is further driving China’s domestic consumption, according to research from Alibaba Group.

Alibaba plans to invest RMB10 billion ($1.63 billion) in the next 3 to 5 years to establish 1000 county-level operation centers and one million village-level service stations covering one-sixth of rural China.

Also read: PHOTOS: How China Internet Companies Advertise in Rural Areas