Alibaba to offer shoppers a virtual world of choice

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd announced on Thursday it will offer goods from 120 countries and regions and double the product categories on its platforms to more than 8,000, as the e-commerce giant strives to bring $200 billion worth of imported goods to Chinese customers over the next five years.

Efforts to bolster that goal include opening an online imported goods supermarket, setting up overseas warehouses specifically for less scalable foreign brands, and leveraging the power of internet celebrities for product promotion, said Liu Peng, general manager of Tmall's import and export business unit.

"Platform and direct sales will act as 'double engines' fueling the expanding Chinese appetite for imported goods," Liu told the annual global partners summit in Hangzhou. The $200 billion target was announced during the China International Import Expo last November.