BEIJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- As selling goods through livestreaming becomes increasingly popular among producers and farmers in China, some African diplomats have started using the technology to promote their countries' products to Chinese consumers.
One such diplomat is James Kimonyo, Rwanda's ambassador to China, who attended the China e-commerce convention at the ongoing 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing.
"I have participated in livestreaming five times in China this year, promoting Rwandan products and unique industries," Kimonyo said.
Kimonyo introduced Rwanda's "Gorilla's coffee" on Taobao, one of the major platforms of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba, in January this year.
"At first, I didn't have many expectations, but what surprised me was that the 2,000 packs of coffee we prepared sold out in just five minutes. This made me feel the huge demand in the Chinese market and the charm of e-commerce," Kimonyo said.
Due to the pandemic, the global sales of Rwandan coffee, a major source of revenue for farmers in the African nation, has dropped sharply.
To help local farmers and small and micro enterprises tide over difficulties, Kimonyo sold coffee by livestreaming for the second time. This time, 3,000 packs of coffee were lapped up in one second.
Since then, Kimonyo has also sold chili sauce and promoted Rwanda's tourism resources to Chinese netizens. In a livestreaming event in August, Kimonyo and some other African ambassadors in Beijing promoted products from their countries.
Rwanda and Alibaba launched the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) initiative in 2018, making Rwanda the first African country to do so.
Since the launch of the eWTP, Rwanda's coffee and tourism products have been sold on Alibaba's e-commerce platforms.
Kimonyo said that since the signing of the contract, the sale of Rwandan coffee in the Chinese market has risen. "Despite the impact of the epidemic, China quickly regained its vitality, which brings hope to us and the world," the ambassador said.
"China's e-commerce platform has increased the popularity of Rwandan products. I hope to introduce more high-quality products such as honey, tea, handicrafts into the Chinese market based on the needs of Chinese consumers," Kimonyo added.
Kimonyo said he hoped to develop Rwanda's e-commerce industry through cooperation under the eWTP framework and attract more Chinese to invest in Rwanda. Enditem
A single purchase
