Deal to bring Norway salmon to more diners

China is expecting faster and fresher salmon imports from Norway after e-commerce giant Alibaba formed a strategic partnership with the world's largest salmon farmer to make the fish more accessible to ordinary consumers.

Win-Chain, Alibaba's aggregated global sourcing platform for fresh food, on Thursday inked an agreement with Norway's Marine Harvest to cooperate on cold chain and delivery, offline catering and online sales operation of imported salmon.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by visiting Norwegian King Harald V and Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba Group, in Shanghai. On the same occasion the Norwegian company announced the opening of its first salmon processing plant in China in Shanghai, where it will work closely with Win-Chain on fueling its domestic business, according to its chairman Ole-Eirik Leroy.