Alibaba feeds hunger for BRI imports
Alibaba's sales of import goods from Belt and Road countries grew by 120 percent last year, almost double the 68 percent pace of growth in 2017.
The increase is most easily seen in niche goods such as personal care products from countries including Greece, Israel, Thailand and many others, according to a report by Alibaba's research body AliResearch released during the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.
Imported fresh food such as squid, pineapple, sea cucumber are finding their way to Chinese households thanks to efficient logistics.
According to export site AliExpress, top receiving countries are Russia, Israel and Poland and top selling items include smartphones, accessories, and electronic devices for automobiles. More than 56 percent buyers on AliExpress are from Belt and Road countries.
Alibaba Cloud has 19 overseas data centers and Cainiao Network is planning to open five logistics hubs in Dubai, Hangzhou, Kuala Lumpur, Liège and Moscow.
Alibaba's Jack Ma has put forward the "Electronic World Trade Platform" to cut e-commerce trade barriers and has pledged to train as many as 1,000 e-commerce entrepreneurs from developing countries in the next five years.