China will take measures to encourage the development of modern logistics in its vast rural areas as part of the government's latest drive to build a "socialist new countryside," Commerce Minister Bo Xilai said Wednesday.

The development of modern logistics such as chain stores is part of the efforts to improve rural infrastructure and will go a long way in boosting rural consumption and contributing to national economic growth, Bo told a conference in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province in East China.

Fake and shoddy products, once rampant throughout China, are now mainly sold in rural areas, where they are posing a serious threat to consumers, he said.

Modern logistics will not only make quality industrial products cheaper and more readily accessible to farmers, but also help the marketing of farm products, the minister said.

For this purpose, the Ministry of Commerce kicked off a project in Feb.2005 dubbed as the "market place for ten thousand villages". The aim of the conference in Yangzhou is to examine progress so far and chart the way forward.

Bo proposed that the year 2006 should see the establishment of 100,000 standard village shops.

By the year 2010, such shops shall serve 65 percent of the villages and 60 of the townships, he said.

To realize the goal, Bo said the government will offer financial support to the project.

The Ministry of Commerce shall also launch a new project this year that will see the establishment of 100 large-scale wholesale market places for farm products and another 100 large-scale farm products marketing companies to boost exports.

Source: Xinhua