The Wuxi Municipal Bureau of Commerce signs a strategic cooperation agreement with Alibaba. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The launch ceremony for an activity titled "New retail helps foreign trade expand domestic sales" was held in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province on April 30, with the aim of promoting the city's domestic and foreign trade, which has been hit by the COVID-19 epidemic.
According to statistics released by customs, Wuxi's foreign trade saw a decrease of 11.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year.
The activity, organized by the Wuxi Municipal Bureau of Commerce, was attended by a number of government officials and representatives of several well-known e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba, as well as the city's renowned export enterprises such as garment giant Hodo Group and e-bike maker Yadea Technology Group.
Wang Xing, director-general of the city's commerce bureau, said that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, foreign trade enterprises in Wuxi have struggled; the Wuxi government has done its utmost to facilitate foreign trade and investment and support economic development.
The local government will deepen cooperation with the country's well-known e-commerce platforms to promote online retail sales and help enterprises expand their domestic market, according to Wang.
At the launch ceremony, the Wuxi Municipal Bureau of Commerce signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Alibaba. The latter said that it will cooperate fully with Wuxi firms and help the city's export-oriented firms to pursue the coordinated development of international and domestic markets.
