Alibaba, Argentina agree to enhance commerce

Alibaba's Jack Ma and President Mauricio Macri of Argentina have reached a strategic e-commerce cooperation agreement.

Alibaba will help the Argentine government introduce the country's wine and other agricultural products into China, as well as help medium and micro corporations in Argentina make progress in China.

In return, the Argentine government will use Alibaba's electronic platforms as its official sales channels.

In the dialogue between Ma and Macri as well as other cabinet ministers, Ma pointed out that the government is obligated to support the development of medium and micro corporations.

Macri hopes that Argentine wine, lobster and fish can be sold to Chinese people through the commercial platforms of Alibaba.

"Our country will grasp the chance of developing online business and promote the domestic electronic commerce with the help of Alibaba," said Macri. "We are now initiating a series of reforms in order to promote investment in infrastructure facilities and enlarge our import and export, in which China and Argentina can help each other."

After the talks with Ma, Macri expressed his excitement on Twitter: "I had a meeting with Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba. Now the medium and micro companies from Argentina can do business on the largest online commercial platform in the world."

"The internet does not steal jobs. Ignoring the internet leads to the loss of jobs," Ma told Xinhua in an exclusive interview. "Shifting resources and energies from the large corporations towards the smaller will benefit the country."

Established as China's answer to Amazon.com in 1999, Ma made his fortune by embracing internet technology. He is confident about what technology can do for society if applied correctly.

According to Argentine officials, there are more than 10,000 companies specializing in export, many of which have not been able to expand sales channels independently.

The agricultural product group of Tmall.com can do business with companies directly as soon as it arrives in Argentina in June.

"Entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized companies will have an advantage, because they are more agile, they will be driving the country's growth," Ma stressed.

"This way of cooperation will lead to a win-win result," said Ma. "The medium and micro corporations in Argentina will have broader sales channels with the help of Alibaba, and we will find qualified local entrepreneurs and reliable partners in this process."

Products from Argentina are becoming increasingly popular among Chinese clients. According to research by Alibaba, seven of the top 10 Argentine products sold on Tmall.com are wines.

Ma is confident that the next 30 years will be the true era of the internet. "In the future, 90 percent of businesses will be online. E-commerce is where the shopping opportunities are, and it is going to become the new way to do retail," he said.