The port city of Zhangjiagang in East China's Jiangsu province is approved by the central government to promote digital countryside construction. [Photo/VCG]

The port city of Zhangjiagang in East China's Jiangsu province was approved by the central government to promote digital countryside construction, according to a notice released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and seven other agencies, local media reported.

In recent years, Zhangjiagang has carried out several national pilot programs for comprehensive reforms in rural areas, such as rice insurance. The city is currently implementing a pilot program of reforms in smart agriculture.

Local authorities said that the city will focus on new-type infrastructure construction in the countryside, including building a 5G characteristic town, promoting the development of the internet of things, smart water conservancy, smart cold chains, and smart transport.

Smart agricultural industries will also be promoted in the city, including smart planting and breeding. Intelligent systems for rural governance will be launched, and internet-plus governmental affairs will be promoted.

Additionally, smart countryside construction will be carried out in the city, with a number of training bases for agriculture, rural areas and farmers to be built, with the aim of promoting collaboration between enterprises, universities and research institutes to advance the industrialization of the local agricultural sector.

Zhangjiagang will also foster several e-commerce brands for the city's characteristic agricultural products, and a complete logistics distribution system will take shape in the city by 2021, which will cultivate new growth models and business forms and inject strong momentum into the city's economic growth and industrial upgrading and transformation.