Alibaba forges cooperation with Chongqing on connected cars, digital infrastructure as e-commerce giant bolsters ties with more local governments

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding and authorities in the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing have pledged deeper collaboration in areas such as connected cars and digital infrastructure, days after the Hangzhou-based company forged a new cooperation agreement with regulators in its eastern home city.

Chongqing Communist Party Secretary Yuan Jiajun and mayor Hu Henghua on Thursday called on Alibaba to “strengthen” its operations in the city, while praising the firm for its contributions to the municipality’s development during a meeting with company chairman and chief executive Daniel Zhang Yong, according to a report by local newspaper Chongqing Daily. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

Yuan, who had worked in Alibaba’s home province of Zhejiang for eight years until late 2022, said Chongqing and the company can now plan to cooperate in a range of areas including connected cars, digital infrastructure and rural development. The municipal government also assured the delivery of “quality services” for businesses operating in the city.

That collaboration is in line with the country’s grand digitalisation plan, unveiled earlier this month by the ruling Communist Party and the State Council, which prioritises digital infrastructure and data resources to create a “digital China” by 2025.

Zhang’s meeting with Chongqing’s top officials comes days after Alibaba signed a new cooperation pact with Hangzhou’s Market Regulation Bureau, which puts the e-commerce giant in a leading role to bring more internet firms to the city.