BEIJING -- Online shopping is thriving in rural China, with last year's transactions reaching 894.54 billion yuan ($130 billion), a Ministry of Commerce (MOC) official said on Thursday.

The figure accounted for 17.4 percent of total online sales nationwide, said MOC spokesperson Sun Jiwen at a briefing.

MOC data showed that online purchases in rural areas reached 353 billion yuan in 2015.

Booming rural e-commerce has played a positive role in boosting rural economic development, increasing farmers' income and improving their lives, according to the MOC.

The MOC vowed to continue promoting rural e-commerce, and efforts will be made to strengthen resource sharing, financing and credit system services.

To boost rural e-commerce, China plans to have full broadband coverage in villages and expedite construction of logistics infrastructure.

China aims to expand its e-commerce market and integrate it with more sectors to boost economic growth and employment.

The world's largest and fastest-growing e-commerce market is expected to expand transactions to more than 40 trillion yuan by 2020, up from 21.8 trillion in 2015, according to the 2016-2020 e-commerce development plan released last year.