Amazon takes on rivals with US deal

Two freshly delivered Amazon boxes are seen on a counter in Golden, Colorado August 27, 2014.[Photo/Agencies]

Amazon China is fighting back against its major rivals Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and JD.com Inc by launching an expanded customer service for imported food and wine products from the United States.

The Chinese division of e-commerce giant Amazon.com has agreed a deal with the US Department of Agriculture to help small and medium-sized US companies tap into the booming market for imported goods here.

The move by Amazon China will give Internet customers a greater range of US products and comes as Alibaba and JD have expanded into the lucrative online imported food and wine business.

"It reflects Chinese customers' strong demand for US-branded products," said Shi Jianjun, vice-president of Amazon China. "So we'd like to help more made-in-US products reach the doorsteps of Chinese customers."

Under the partnership deal announced on Thursday, Amazon China plans to help US food and drinks suppliers backed by the Chinese trade office of the US Department of Agriculture to reach customers here.

"As a multinational company, Amazon has already established some strong partnerships with global suppliers, which would lay a solid foundation for it in China's e-commerce landscape," said Vanessa Zeng, a senior analyst at Forrester Research Inc.

Amazon already runs 13 different sites around the world with online shopping services covering 67 countries and regions. This puts the company in a strong position against Alibaba and JD, according to Zeng.

Alibaba and JD appear to realize that. The Chinese e-commerce giants have expanded rapidly to build up ties with suppliers around the globe.

Last month, Alibaba launched as many as 11 country "pavilions" with foreign governments on its Tmall Global online marketplace. Executive chairman Jack Ma visited the US in early June to encourage the country's small and medium-sized businesses to use Alibaba online platforms to sell directly to Chinese consumers.

JD.com Inc, China's largest online direct sales company, has also launched four online country "pavilions" on its online marketplace, which takes in suppliers from France, South Korea, Japan and Australia.