Mexican president eyes closer cooperation with Chinese e-commerce companies

HANGZHOU - China and Mexico have tremendous cooperation potential in the e-commerce sector, said Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto during his first visit to Alibaba headquarters in Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang province Wednesday.

Pena Nieto came to Hangzhou from Xiamen, where he attended the Dialogue of Emerging Market and Developing Countries. He said many small and medium-sized firms have benefited from Alibaba's e-commerce platform and he hoped more companies in Mexico can cooperate with Chinese e-commerce companies in the future.

"The digital economy has made it possible for small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in global trade. As an open country, Mexico believes in globalization and hopes to strengthen our competitiveness and productivity by opening our windows wider," he said.

More than 200,000 Mexican companies have registered on Alibaba's various platforms, according to Jack Ma, Alibaba's founder and chairman.

Ma said his company will help small businesses and young entrepreneurs in the near future.

"We should pay more attention to young people under 30 and companies with less than 30 employees," he said.

Trade between Mexico and China has grown rapidly in recent years. China is Mexico's second-biggest trade partner, while Mexico has been expanding its exports of agricultural products to China. The country currently exports more than 20 kinds of produce to China, including avocados, pork, beef, berries, and tequila.

During this visit of Pena Nieto, Mexico signed a memorandum of understanding with Alibaba, which expects the Chinese Internet giant to create more business opportunities for Mexican companies.

"We are pushing forward a nationwide technological upgrading so that most Mexicans can have access to high-speed broadband services by 2024," said Pena Nieto. "And we hope Alibaba can bring Mexican products to more places."

Guo Cunhai, a scholar from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said help from Alibaba will greatly boost the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises in Mexico to tap the international market.