Alibaba Group Holding Limited announced today the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysia’s digital economy development agency, and the Hangzhou Municipal Government.
This MOU will connect the first e-hubs in the two countries under the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP), taking Alibaba Group’s vision of facilitating global trade for SMEs around the world one step closer to reality.
The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, Secretary of Communist Party of China’s Zhejiang Provincial Committee, Che Jun, and Alibaba Group’s Executive Chairman, Jack Ma, witnessed the signing of the triparty memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Hangzhou today that aims to connect China (Hangzhou) Comprehensive E-Commerce Pilot Zone with Malaysia’s Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ).
The MOU seeks to enable the building of infrastructure for seamless cross-border e-commerce trade between Malaysia and China. The three parties agree to work together to explore potential strategic collaborations, consistent with Alibaba’s vision of eWTP.
Under the MOU, the parties will join forces to explore linkages between the China (Hangzhou) Cross-Border E-Commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone – the first domestic e-hub, which Alibaba Group played a key role in establishing – and the DFTZ in Malaysia, established by Alibaba and MDEC in March this year, as pilot implementation towards building an e-road for global trade.
By leveraging Alibaba’s internet and data technologies, the parties will facilitate cooperation between public and private enterprises in Hangzhou and Malaysia to provide easier access to customs clearance, inspection and permit issuance for SMEs to do cross-border trade.
The eWTP initiative was accepted as a major policy recommendation of the Business 20 (B20) and officially included in the 2016 G20 Leaders’ Communique.
It seeks to remove barriers to trade for smaller firms and emerging nations, supporting them in realizing their full economic potential and ensuring that they can also enjoy the benefits of global commerce.
eWTP seeks to fundamentally change international trade through cost reductions, shortened supply chains and increased efficiencies, complementing the work of the WTO.
