Alibaba aims to open a physical base in Brussels to bring Belgian manufacturers in contact with Chinese consumers. The remarkable fact is that about 100 Belgian citizens will get a specific education for it in China.
Alibaba Embassy
There have been long-standing rumours that Jack Ma, Alibaba’s founder, has plans to expand into Europe. He toured the continent last year and mentioned plans for Brussels and Paris with the goal to open a so-called Alibaba embassy. Apparently, the location in Brussels would open its doors in May already.
At the World Economic Forum, Ma promised king Filip he would recruit 100 people in Belgium, according to a “good source” from the business paper De Tijd. That group will receive a year-long training in China to get to know the “intricacies of the Chinese market and what local consumers like when it comes to luxury products and delicacies”.
The eCommerce giant aims to create a worldwide network of “embassies”, counting on the support of local governments and trade promotion services. The goal is to combine Western exporters in a “virtual country-based pavilion” so that the Chinese middle-class can easily discover and buy their quality products, thanks to the Alibaba platform. The Chinese middle-class are about 200 million people with increased purchasing power and plenty of interest in European quality products, Jack Ma knows.
