BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) -- China's rural e-commerce has been growing at a fast pace amid government initiatives to support rural consumption, data showed.

As of May 22, the country saw more than 87,000 newly registered rural e-commerce enterprises this year, up 13.6 percent from a year ago, data from database query platform Tianyancha.com showed.

In the meantime, over 8,000 rural companies have added e-commerce, online sales or other related businesses, the figures showed.

As the novel coronavirus epidemic dented consumption in the country, China has been encouraging innovative ways to tap market potential, especially in the countryside.

County chiefs and city mayors were encouraged to promote local products via livestreaming, with more than 4 million live broadcasts made in the first quarter, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

In Q1, online sales of farm produce reached 93.68 billion yuan (about 13.14 billion U.S. dollars), a rise of 31 percent year on year, according to the ministry.

Rural e-commerce is expected to see continued growth thanks to government support, analysts said.

China will support the rollout of e-commerce and courier services in the countryside to expand rural consumption, according to this year's government work report.