Now streaming, local officials evolve with the changing times

A DEPUTY COUNTY CHIEF IN Shandong province imitates a live streaming celebrity to promote and sell local agricultural products online, an innovation in local governance. China Daily writer Wang Yiqing comments:

Wang Shuai, deputy chief of Shanghe county in Jinan, Shandong province, turns into a live streaming salesman to promote agricultural and other products online. His imitation of "best live streaming salesman" Li Jiaqi's style and tone while going about his business went viral on the internet recently.

A young man born after 1980, Wang holds a doctoral degree and is in charge of the county's commercial and trade work. He actively uses online e-commerce channels to promote local products. After observing Li Jiaqi's persuasive hosting skills, he began imitating him to sell the local products.

But behind Wang's innovative experiment are his colleagues at Shanghe county. Wang said he had no prior experience in live streaming. Shanghe county has piloted live streaming as a way to sell local products after seeing the positive impact of this new e-commerce channel.

According to Wang, total online sales of the county's agricultural and other products from January to November 2019 touched 540 million yuan ($77.5 million), a 13 percent growth year-on-year. Live streaming alone helped promote more than 10 million yuan in sales in the past years.

Internet has drastically changed traditional business models, and can help boost rural economies while benefiting local residents. The efforts made by local authorities to promote local specialties through e-commerce channels shows how officials on the ground are evolving with the times and transforming government functions to better serve local development. This is a positive example of improving local governance capacity.