This Day, That Year

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.