Online trading giant Alibaba has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade).
Under the agreement, Australian brands will have more resources to tap into hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers through Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms.
The agreement will broaden Alibaba’s existing partnership with Austrade, providing dedicated services for Australian products and leveraging digital content to build brand Australia abroad.
The signing of the agreement was witnessed at a ceremony at Alibaba’s corporate headquarters in Hangzhou by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Alibaba Group’s founder and executive chairman Jack Ma.
Ma said this is an important new venture.
"The next chapter of trade between China and Australia will require closer cooperation and this agreement provides a new framework to ensure more businesses, especially small and medium enterprises, can benefit through the partnership between Austrade and Alibaba.
"Together we can all work jointly to support Australian jobs and shape a new future for many people and businesses through the cooperation forged today."
Speaking during his visit, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull described the venture as a "liberating force for small businesses."
“[It] enables the smallest businesses, the mom-and-dad businesses, in the regional part of Australia to have access to the biggest part of the world, something that hitherto only a very large company with enormous resources, with enormous representation would be able to do.
"And because so many of the services are available on the cloud, again it reduces the cost of business and levels the playing field between the big company and the small company."
Alibaba Australia MD Maggie Zhou also praised the new agreement.
“Australia is a key market for Alibaba Group and we are excited to extend our collaboration with Austrade to cultivate successful Australian exporters that are capitalising on China’s expanding middle class.
"With Alibaba Group’s new Melbourne office opening later this year, our local team will be dedicated to providing businesses the information and tools they need to advance their international growth.”
In addition to supporting Australian companies already succeeding in China, a key focus of the partnership will be targeting first time exporters, particularly SMEs, and facilitating access to Alibaba assistance in commercialising new digital technology and services in China.