Item from July 19, 1998, in China Daily: Salespeople wait for customers at Xiliu Market in Haicheng, Liaoning province. Items such as cosmetics and jewelry are becoming increasingly popular among farmers whose disposable incomes are increasing. ...

The farmers need more assistance to make rural markets an engine for economic growth, according to a report by the Internet Trade Bureau.

In 2014, China announced a plan to bring its urbanization rate to 60 percent by 2020, a move that is expected to help some 100 million migrant workers settle in cities. The figure topped 56 percent last year, and one-third of those who benefited were migrant workers, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The ambitious program that turns farmers to urban residents has generated high hopes and is expected to serve as an economic engine.

To eliminate any obstacles to urbanization, the government has accelerated the pace of reform. It will allow new migrants to get better public services in social security, healthcare and education, as the current system ties them to their place of birth.

Expansion of the program is also a key element of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20). Twenty-nine provinces and regions have unveiled plans to implement it.

Some farmers buy products on Taobao.com, a popular e-shopping site in China, in Mengcheng county, Anhui province, on August 24, 2015. [Photo/VCG]