AliBaba is making plans to start an online platform that sells Russian-made goods to the Chinese market by 2020.
A source spoke to RT Business at the annual Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) said, “All Russian goods which are currently sold in China are imported through the B2B (business-to-business) service. That is not export through an e-commerce platform,” said the source, adding that Alibaba plans to launch the first such platform next year.
The Eastern Economic Forum is an international forum held each year in Vladivostok, Russia, for the purpose of encouraging foreign investment in the Russian Far East.
The source added that the e-commerce firm was currently figuring out the reverse logistics of the arrangement.
At the moment Russian products are solely exported via eBay and Ozon, and are headed primarily to the United States.
At the 2018 EEF, Alibaba and Russian tech firm Mail.ru announced their partnership to launch the e-commerce site as a joint venture.
Michael Evans, Alibaba Group President, described the partnership as an exciting step towards Alibaba’s international expansion.
He said that the partnership with Russia’s top consumer internet platform, AliExpress would help digitize and transform the retail value chain in Russia.
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Mr Evans added, “This would enable a seamless and innovative experience for consumers as well as creating significant opportunities for Russian entrepreneurs and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) to grow in their home market and expand globally,”
He expressed that the Alibaba Group’s vast experience in China and other markets world wide makes it best placed to help build Russia’s e-commerce infrastructure.
Boris Dobrodeev, CEO Mail.Ru, said that the two firms would focus on developing their own existing online properties, and integrating into the online social experience of Russian consumers.
