A livestreaming host promotes goods in Deqing county, Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: hz66.com]

Official statistics from the Huzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce show that the city's online retail sales reached 39.72 billion yuan ($6.11 billion) in the first half of this year, a year-on-year growth of 30.9 percent.

The growth rate was ranked fourth in East China's Zhejiang province.

Meanwhile, online consumption of local residents amounted to 24.28 billion yuan, a yearly uptick of 24.7 percent, the third highest in the province.

Over the same period, Huzhou's cross-border e-commerce transaction volume was valued at 3.83 billion yuan.

The city's Changxing district retained its leading role in online retail sales. Official data shows that the district's online retail sale volume reached about 22.98 billion yuan during the six-month period, accounting for 57.85 percent of the city's total.

Huzhou has made great efforts in promoting the application of digital techs in life services in the city. A recent report ranked the city second in Zhejiang only after Hangzhou in this regard.

In April last year, Huzhou received approval from the State Council to establish a comprehensive pilot zone for cross-border e-commerce.