Pearl sellers find treasure in livestreams

To standardize livestreaming activities, Shanxiahu authorities started their research on pearls sold through livestreaming in 2022 and have visited more than 100 livestreaming rooms.

"Selling pearls via livestreaming plays an important role in the development of Shanxiahu's pearl industry. Too many complaints from customers would not only impact online selling, but also damage the brands' credibility, which would definitely hinder the development of the whole industry," said Fang Wuchao, deputy head of Shanxiahu township government.

He Donghui, an executive of Angeperle, a pearl company in Shanxiahu, said livestreamers should be proficient in both knowledge about pearls and advertising laws.

Together with the National Gemstone Testing Center and the Zhejiang Province Pearl Industry Association, local authorities started a course on selling pearls online in the town in February. More than 100 people applied for the course and 57 were admitted. After the training, 54 of them received certificates and became the country's first group of licensed pearl-selling livestreamers.

Deng Shaohua is one of them. "Some customers are more of an expert than we are. It's embarrassing when we cannot answer their questions. That's why all members of my team participate in each training opportunity about pearls."

Yu Jinliang and his girlfriend He Tong have been active in selling pearls using livestreaming for nearly two years and both received certificates.

"As livestreamers, we should have a broad range of knowledge, which is not confined to pearls but includes laws such as those on consumer protection and taxes," Yu said. "The training course covers both theory and practice, such as knowledge about pearls and the details of livestreaming."

Yu Lingjun, Party secretary of Shanxiahu, said: "How well the livestreamers perform has a lot to do with the level of credibility the brands achieve in the market. Thanks to e-commerce and livestreaming, our pearls have become popular across the nation. We believe that the standardization of pearl-selling livestreaming activities will attract more people to the industry and will also make the industry better off in the long run."

People in other nations have also been inspired by Shaxiahu's experiences, especially Xinchangle villagers' promotion of the traditional pearl industry through digital selling.

Stories about Xinchangle village have been compiled into teaching materials used in Mexican colleges, according to Liu Qiang, who is in charge of Alibaba Group's digital economy training program, Global Digital Talent. "We hope teachers and students there will share these experiences with local companies to help them upgrade their industrial sectors with digital technologies."

The electronic World Trade Platform, an initiative started by Alibaba in 2017 to help small businesses and entrepreneurs build globalized businesses through cross-border trade, has a talent program that now operates in more than 15 markets across the world. It helps improve the knowledge of educators who, in turn, pass it along to their students.

Mexico has become the first stop in the Americas for the electronic World Trade Platform program. In February, a delegation of Mexican officials and educators arrived for a one-week visit in Xinchangle.

"It's really good to see firsthand how the Chinese are conducting e-commerce and building all the necessary infrastructure," said Daniel Gonzalez Arroyo, director of the Irapuato State Training Institute in Guanajuato, Mexico. "We want to learn from you and replicate your success in Mexico."