URUMQI, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region will further expand the online sales network of its signature fruits and nuts industry this year as it steps up efforts against poverty, particularly in the southern part of the region.

The regional government outlined in the government work report that it will support companies in purchasing products and selling them outside the region. It will boost the quality of the fruits and nuts business to help people raise their income.

Xinjiang will cooperate with Alibaba, whose poverty-relief project covers 559 counties nationwide, including 221 national-level impoverished counties.

The project covers over half of the total 33 counties in southern Xinjiang, which encompasses areas of Hotan, Kashgar, Aksu and Kizilsu Kirgiz. The company's e-commerce platforms help farmers make money from selling products such as apples, dates, walnuts and almonds.

Since 2017, more than 500 families who grow melons in Bachu County of Kashgar have emerged from poverty by selling the fruits on Alibaba's e-commerce platform Taobao.

China is committed to lifting its entire poor rural population out of poverty by 2020. Leading e-commerce firm Alibaba provides e-commerce, logistics, finance and technology services to rural people.