In an effort to bolster Foshan's brands in the global market, the Foshan Bureau of Commerce and Alibaba have joined forces by signing a framework cooperation agreement on July 19. The signing took place at the Foshan International Home Industrial Belt Conference, attended by Vice Director of Foshan Bureau of Commerce, Mr. Huang Tie.

During the event, the Foshan Bureau of Commerce and Alibaba's International Digital Commerce Group inked a significant framework cooperation agreement. Their joint initiative, titled "Foshan Digital Industrial Belt's Brand Globalization," aims to harness Alibaba's vast international digital commerce resources and foster a slew of foreign trade brands and core enterprises. The collaboration will also incubate a batch of high-quality local service providers, execute a series of ecological activities, drive policy innovations, and actively leverage cross-border e-commerce to accelerate Foshan's integration into the new foreign trade landscape.

Under the agreement, both parties will collaborate on seven key areas, which include the integrated development of new foreign trade models and formats, enhancing the global value of Foshan's manufacturing brands, integrating online and offline marketing channels, innovating new trade methods, optimizing the ecological environment for the development of new foreign trade formats, fostering a conducive atmosphere for such development, and facilitating communication with supervisory platforms.

To achieve these objectives, the collaboration will focus on six major projects, including nurturing leading cross-border enterprises in Foshan, elevating the international influence of Foshan's export brands, and facilitating the integration of domestic and foreign trade on e-commerce platforms.

Regarding brand incubation, the Bureau will recommend Foshan enterprises with a strong brand foundation and willingness to expand onto Alibaba's international digital commerce platform. In support of this effort, Alibaba will introduce a specialized assistance program targeting supply chain security, consumer insights, brand promotion, special incentives, and exclusive operational services to boost brand development.

Furthermore, the collaboration aims to explore innovative policies, focusing on Free Trade Zones and cross-border e-commerce pilot zones. This includes fostering a unique innovation cluster with Foshan's distinctive characteristics that lead the development of cross-border e-commerce, thereby promoting high-quality development in the sector.

Foshan has always placed great emphasis on the development of cross-border e-commerce, introducing various measures to support this sector, such as allocating a special fund of 30 million yuan to support emerging cross-border e-commerce businesses, including overseas warehouses, independent platforms, brand building, and promotional efforts. The cooperation with Alibaba's International Digital Commerce Group through the framework agreement aims to promote mutually beneficial cooperation, serve local businesses more effectively, and stimulate expansion into international markets.

Foshan, renowned nationwide for its manufacturing industry, enjoys the unique reputation of being the pilot city dedicated to transforming and upgrading China's manufacturing industry. In 2022, Foshan achieved a remarkable GDP surpassing 1.2 trillion yuan, with total industrial output value for scale-above industries scaling 2.87 trillion yuan. The city boasts a solid foundation in traditional industries such as household appliances, furniture, ceramics, and building materials, alongside emerging industries like robotics, new energy, new materials, electronic information, and healthcare. 

Foshan prides itself on hosting 26 national-level characteristic industrial bases and eight industrial clusters, each exceeding 100 billion yuan in value. The two major industrial clusters, equipment manufacturing, and pan-home industry, have both surpassed the trillion-yuan milestone. Emphasizing the crucial role of the home living industry in driving cross-border e-commerce, the Foshan Bureau of Commerce plans to leverage this industry belt to optimize supply chains, amplify the reach of Foshan brands in the global arena, and export premium Foshan products to consumers worldwide.