Alibaba.com, the Hong Kong arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, announced to build its Chongqing New Foreign Trade (Free Trade) Service Center in the Liangjiang New Area (LNA) on Aug 8.

The new service center aims to introduce more foreign trade service providers, and medium and small-sized foreign trade enterprises, to enter the Liangjiang New Area.

It will help the area to build an efficient service system for local foreign trade and promote the transformation and upgrade of Chongqing's foreign trade companies.

The Liangjiang New Area administrative committee signs a cooperation agreement with Alibaba.com to build the Chongqing New Foreign Trade (Free Trade) Service Center in the Liangjiang New Area (LNA) on Aug 8. [Photo/liangjiang.gov.cn]

Tang Zongwei, deputy director of the Liangjiang New Area administrative committee, said that Liangjiang New Area has enjoyed a long-time cooperation with Alibaba and the new service center will drive the e-commerce industry in  Liangjiang and even Chongqing.

Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group, first put forward his idea of building a world e-commerce platform during the Boao Forum for Asia this March. The service center is a vital part of Jack Ma's latest ambitions.

Zeng Dong, international market manager of Alibaba in Central and West China, said that the service center is Alibaba's first step in cross-border e-commerce in the central and western regions.

A cross-border e-commerce development summit was co-hosted by the Liangjiang New Area and Alibaba Group on Aug 7 to discuss the latest trends in the industry and new development opportunities available to local foreign trade companies.

A cross-border e-commerce development summit is co-hosted by the Liangjiang New Area and Alibaba Group on Aug 7. [Photo/liangjiang.gov.cn]

Edited by Zachary Dye