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Chinese state media blasts local officials for misuse of live-streaming sales intended to help poor farmers

  • Some officials sold products at a loss or even made up fake orders that were cancelled after the show, according to Xinhua
  • China’s live-streaming market was worth 433.8 billion yuan in 2019 and is expected to double in size this year, according to iiMedia Research

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Farmer Chen Jiubei helped lift her family and village out of poverty through live streaming sales on Alibaba's Taobao. Photo: Handout

China’s official news agency has criticised local government officials for using live-streamed shopping events as publicity stunts to try and improve their own image, pointing out that the original purpose of the e-commerce initiative was to help small merchants and farmers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Some officials, who jumped on the live-streaming bandwagon to sell local products on behalf of farmers, were even paying viewers to praise their good looks and personalities during their live broadcast sessions, according to a commentary published on one of Xinhua’s WeChat public accounts on Sunday.

Xinhua quoted an anonymous government employee in western China on details about the misuse of live-streamed e-commerce sessions by some local officials, who asked colleagues to join as audience members and set a minimum spending level to boost views and sales.

Some sold products at a loss or even made up fake orders that were cancelled after the show, according to Xinhua.

“Live-streaming e-commerce was meant to be a new way for the government to resume operations and to help eliminate poverty, and ultimately it aims to be a sales channel for local products, especially agricultural products,” Xinhua said in the commentary.

“The self-deceiving flamboyance has deviated from the initial intention and has became the new formalism and bureaucracy.”

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