Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has vowed to support Korean companies in making successful forays into China’s expanding online market.

It will empower Korean merchants with its new retail initiatives and allow them to leverage on Alibaba’s third-party mobile and online payment platform Alipay, the group said.

During Alibaba’s conference on Monday on its business in Korea, Alibaba said Korean brands are invited to actively use Alibaba’s omni-channels from online to offline to enter the world’s largest retail market.

“Alibaba Group’s great import strategy offers (a) one-stop solution for Korean merchants to tap into the China market both online and offline seamlessly,” Angel Zhao, president of Alibaba Global Business Group and vice president of Alibaba Group said during the conference. 

According to the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, the country plans to import $8 trillion worth of products in the next five years for the population of over 1.3 billion.

On Alibaba’s business-to-consumer online retail mall Tmall, where some 3,000 Korean cosmetics, fashion, jewelry and skin care brands are strong players, Korea ranked the No. 4 top exporter on Tmall Global last year, trailing behind Japan, US and Australia. 

Korean sellers have seen gross merchandise volume increase by 45 percent from 2015 to 2017, the company said. 

“We have seen Korean brands extending brand presence in China via Tmall especially among middle-class Chinese consumers, who want healthy, trendy, assured and cost-effective products,” said Danny Chung, Alibaba Group Korea’s general manager. 

Last year, the total value of Korean consumer goods exported to China was $5.5 billion, while the total number of inbound travelers from China to Korea hit 4.2 million. The total value of Chinese visitors spending hit $12.5 billion. 

A key to driving sales growth targeting Chinese tourists in Korea would be leveraging Alibaba’s payment system Alipay, the company said. 

“There are some tens of thousands of stores, F&B places, duty-free shops, department stores, and convenience stores that accept Alipay in Korea. We will continue to expand that figure and support Korean offline merchants to sell products and services to Chinese tourists by enabling Alipay,” Chung said. 

On Monday, Tmall Global also signed memorandums of understanding with 17 Korean cosmetics brands including 23years old, Clubclio, Dermafirm and Mediheal, as part of its efforts to support Korean companies in marketing and promotion strategies.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)