Mexico inked deal with Alibaba Group

Alibaba signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mexico at Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, on Wednesday. From left to right: Mexico’s Undersecretary of Industry and Commerce of the Ministry of the Economy of Mexico José Rogelio Garza, Mexican President Enrique Pe?a Nieto, Alibaba Group’s Executive Chairman Jack Ma and President Mike Evans. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

China's e-commerce giant Alibaba signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mexico on Wednesday, in order to get Mexican products and services, especially from small-and mid-sized enterprises, to its marketplaces.

Mexican President Pena Nieto visited Hangzhou, from Xiamen, to attend the Dialogue of Emerging Market and Developing Countries and witness the signing of the MoU with Alibaba Group Executive Chairman Jack Ma.

"Alibaba is one of the world′s largest technology companies, with a sophisticated e-commerce ecosystem and a remarkable reach of more than 500 million active annual consumers globally," he said.

"By partnering with Alibaba, we can expand Mexico’s export options in China and in Asia more broadly, while enhancing Mexican SMEs’ knowledge of e-commerce and cross-border trade."

According to the MoU, Alibaba will create a special program for Mexico to benefit from the company’s business-to-business trading platform, Alibaba.com. Moreover, Alibaba will also share practices in the operation of its logistics and payment platforms, in order for the chance Mexican companies might bolster their cross-border e-commerce operations, as well as attract Chinese tourism to Mexico.

"Alibaba is committed to inspiring, motivating and enabling SMEs from around the world to grow and thrive through e-commerce and the use of technology," the Alibaba Group’s Executive Chairman, Jack Ma, said. "We are delighted to help promote cross-border trade with Mexico through this MoU. We view our cooperation as a way to energize economic development in both countries."

Mexican President Enrique Pe?a Nieto and First Lady Angelica Rivera visit Alibaba’s headquarters in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

China is Mexico's second-biggest trade partner, while Mexico has been expanding its exports of agricultural products to China. The country currently exports more than 20 kinds of produce to China, including avocados, pork, beef, berries, and tequila.

Guo Cunhai, a scholar from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said help from Alibaba will greatly boost the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises in Mexico to tap the international market.

This is the third MoU Alibaba has signed with Latin America marked Alibaba’s another move of its globalization drive. In May, the company agreed to help bring food and wine from Argentina to China, while a partnership with Brazil’s national postal service, Correios, was signed in 2014.