Alibaba’s Cross-Border Move Hits 11 Countries

The eCommerce giant announced the expansion of its online retail initiatives through two big efforts: the launch of 11 new country pavilions on Tmall.com and the establishment of 26 cooperative partnerships between foreign embassies in China and the company’s group-buying platform.

In a company release yesterday (June 24), Alibaba said: “A total of 11 countries, including [the] United States, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, France, Britain, Spain, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Turkey will launch country pavilions on Tmall Global, an extension of Tmall.com, China’s largest third-party B2C platform for brands and retailers.”

The pavilions, or online verticals, will give Chinese consumers access to popular products from a particular country, as well as specific information concerning travel and culture.

Korea launched its pavilion in May, making it the first country to provide a platform where small and medium-sized enterprises can offer authentic products directly to Chinese customers through Alibaba’s Tmall.com.

The goal of this initiative is to assist small businesses from around the world with selling their products directly into China, the company said. The venture will meet the needs of China’s rising middle class consumers, while also lowering trade barriers for companies looking to sell goods in China.

“Alibaba Group has been incubating this country pavilion project for some time now. Today, these 11 pavilions are the first fruit of this ongoing project to make global trade easier. Alibaba Group has signed agreements with various foreign countries to bring products from small-medium enterprises to the Chinese market and offer consumers in China authentic products through Tmall Global and Juhuasuan,” Alibaba’s President of China retail marketplaces Jeff Zhang added.

Alibaba will also collaborate on marketing and promotion with the embassies of 26 countries whose products will be available on its group-buying marketplace Juhuasuan.

As Chinese officials continue to show their support for the country’s cross-border eCommerce, Alibaba may be in a prime position to keep expanding its online reach. Earlier this week, the State Council reportedly released new guidelines for eCommerce businesses to follow in their cross-border ventures as the government aims to strengthen the sector.

According to a recent report by Accenture, China is expected to become the world’s biggest cross-border B2C market by 2020.

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