Alibaba in hi-tech pact with Tianjin

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding and the municipal government of Tianjin have pledged “deeper collaboration” in the development of hi-tech fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and big data in the northern coastal metropolis.

An agreement was forged among Alibaba chairman and chief executive Daniel Zhang Yong, Tianjin party secretary Chen Miner and city mayor Zhang Gong, according to the Tianjin Daily, a newspaper run by the municipal government. Alibaba owns the Post.

Zhang said Alibaba would provide computing resources with “higher efficiency and at a lower cost” to support initiatives in AI, cloud computing, big data and other hi-tech areas in Tianjin, home to northern China’s largest port and located about 150km from Beijing.

The Tianjin municipal government expects Alibaba to pursue more innovative projects and businesses there, including in smart city and industrial internet activities, according to local party chief Chen.

For its part, Tianjin had promised to “continuously optimise the [city’s] ecology for innovation”, while “creating a favourable environment for enterprise development”, Chen said.

Hangzhou-based Alibaba was already working closely with Tianjin before their latest collaboration agreement.

In 2015, the company became the municipal government’s strategic partner to develop a digital platform for civil administration. In 2019, digital payment services provider Alipay, operated by Alibaba’s fintech affiliate, Ant Group, launched a mini-program for Tianjin residents to handle online errands, such as social security, pension, marriage registration and utility payments.

Alibaba’s new pact with Tianjin reflects the firm’s continued confidence in collaborating with various local governments following Beijing’s call for increased private-sector participation to stabilise the national economy and the job market.

Earlier this month, Alibaba and Baidu were among a number of big tech firms enlisted by the municipal government in Beijing to accelerate the development of artificial general intelligence activities in the capital.

In March, Alibaba and the authorities in Chongqing pledged tighter collaboration in various hi-tech areas such as connected cars and digital infrastructure.

[Alibaba will provide computing resources with] higher efficiency and at a lower cost

DANIEL ZHANG, ALIBABA CHAIRMAN