Many government officials across China have started taking steps into the country’s booming livestreaming e-commerce scene as a way to promote sales of local products.

Lu Hongping hosts a livestream show at strawberry greenhouse. (Photo/Han Xichen)

Lu Hongping, deputy secretary of the Party committee of Yanghe town of Jiaozhou, east China’s Shandong province, hosted a livestream show at 8 p.m. on March 25, during which he sold local blueberries.

“We picked these fresh blueberries today. This kind of fruit is full of nutrition,” Lu said during the livestream. “Don’t hesitate to buy it!” He ended up selling over 250 kilograms of blueberries.

On March 8, Gao Shilong, the first secretary of the Party committee of Dabeishan village, Jingyu county in northeast China’s Jilin province, took to livestreaming in a bid to help villagers reverse poor sales of local specialties.

The newbie broadcaster sold 7,000 yuan of products in four hours, which is a good result for villagers, as their products usually don’t sell well on the roadsides.

Gao was extremely confident in his local produce, and during the livestream promised that the products he was advertising were of good quality.

As the first secretary of the village Party committee, he has always set strict standards for every link in the food production chain, from building processing plants and guaranteeing quality to brand-building for agricultural products.

What’s more, over 100 top county or city officials took part in livestreaming sessions to advertise local specialties on internet platforms in March.

Experts said that while officials’ appearances on livestreaming sites have drawn the public’s attention, local governments should also roll out measures to guarantee product quality, logistics and after-sale services.