Unit 2 Main Cross-Border E-Commerce Platforms

2.1 B2B Platforms

2.1.1 About Alibaba

Alibaba Group was established in 1999 by 18 people led by Jack Мa，a former English teacher from Hangzhou，China.From the outset，the company's founders shared a belief that the Internet would level the playing field by enabling small enterprises to leverage innovation and technology to grow and compete more effectively in the domestic and global economies.Since launching its first website helping small and medium-sized enterprises in China to sell internationally，Alibaba Group has grown into a digital ecosystem with businesses comprising China commerce，international commerce，local consumer services，logistics，cloud，digital media and entertainment，innovation initiatives and others.

Among all of the business above，Alibaba.com（Figure 2-1）is the leading platform for global wholesale trade，which serves millions of buyers and suppliers around the world.As part of the Alibaba Group，its mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere.

Figure 2-1　Alibaba Website

Alibaba.com brings buyers hundreds of millions of products in over 40 different major categories，including consumer electronics，machinery and apparel.Buyers for these products are located in more than 190 countries and regions，and exchange hundreds of thousands of messages with suppliers on the platform each day.[1]