Warmer winds blow as Alibaba’s hometown government pledges unswerving support for e-commerce giant to develop economy

The municipal government of Hangzhou, where Alibaba Group Holding is based, has signed an agreement to deepen “strategic cooperation” with the e-commerce giant, praising it for helping the local economy and pledging unswerving support for its development.

Liu Jie, the communist party chief of Hangzhou, said during the signing ceremony that Alibaba has made an “irreplaceable” contribution to the city’s economic and social development, and that the municipal government would maintain close contact with Alibaba in a comprehensive and all-weather manner, according to a statement from the government of Hangzhou.

Liu praised Alibaba’s “resilience during the economic winter for the internet industry”, its “relentless efforts for hardcore scientific innovation” and the company’s “courage to face the problems during the rectification campaign of the platform economy”.

The show of support and friendship by the local authority is yet another indication that the past few years of intense regulatory pressure – which has weighed on Alibaba’s growth – is normalising. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

In a separate event, Liu visited Ant Group on Tuesday and encouraged the fintech group to “grasp opportunities” and to “command the heights in a new round of global competition”, the official Hangzhou Daily reported. The visit came days after Alibaba and Ant founder Jack Ma agreed to relinquish overall control of the fintech group.