A financial system that helps farmers and small businesses is an important component of the development of rural areas. This is part of China's efforts to eliminate poverty by 2020. Our reporter Zou Yun travelled to the Fujian province to learn more about the progress made in the area of finance for the nation's farmers.

Yellow croakers flipping, ready for the nets. Zheng Xiang'an is a fisherman in San Duao area, which is China's largest farm for raising yellow croakers. He has been in the business for over two decades, and can still remember vividly those years when large amounts of cash were used for all transactions.

ZHENG XIANGAN, FISHERMAN SANDUAO, FUJIAN PROVINCE "After the fish were caught at night, we took bags of money from purchasers and then several people sat in a room and counted until it was clear. We were also concerned about getting counterfeit money. It was very inconvenient."

Things have improved. Big bags of money are in the past, and worries over fakes are history. Most payments are now digital, and transactions are now done using mobile devices and electronic wallets. These changes are part of government efforts to make the financial sector more inclusive. Among the goals is to provide farmers, small businesses, and poor households with better access to basic banking services such as deposit accounts and loans. Results have been encouraging. Over 20-thousand fishermen in the remote San Duao now have access to basic financial support.

HUANG WANQIU, GENERAL MANAGER DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS DEV'T, RURAL COMMERCIAL BANK OF NINGDE "In terms of trading volume, mobile banking alone has reached nearly 7 billion yuan in the first quarter of this year, and transactions through POS machines have exceeded 2 billion yuan. This shows that increased level of convenience in finance has boosted local businesses."

Farmers are also offered micro loans so they can start businesses, which in the process leads to higher incomes and reduced unemployment. This is changing the way small villages look, helping convince younger people to come back home. Du Ying is one of them. After getting his college degree, he chose to return to his village instead of working in big cities like many of his schoolmates. He had a dream of opening the first tea processing factory in his hometown.

DU YING TEA PRODUCER "Local banks learned that I wanted to start my own business. They approached me and said that they can offer loans at discounted rates. That became my seed money. The banks also provided financial services that helped my business grow."

Du Ying paid back all the money he borrowed in four years, and is now raking in 300 thousand yuan a year. The village of Chixi, where he was born, is now China's number one poverty relief village.

ZOU YUN CHIXI VILLAGE, FUJIAN PROVINCE "In China, many villages are working hard to eliminate poverty. Luckily for them, the government's efforts in pushing forward inclusive finance, has made it possible for financial services to reach grassroots level villages like this one here. It's not only about lending them the money they need, but more importantly, it's about empowering them to make the money and seek a better life. ZY, CGTN, Chixi village, Fujian Province."