Daniel Zhang Yong, CEO of Alibaba Group Holding , affirmed the e-commerce giant’s commitment to “regulated development” at a Zhejiang provincial party committee conference on local economies on Friday. As a platform company, Alibaba should put forward “higher requirements” for itself and contribute to the development of society and economy, according to state-run China National Radio. “Alibaba is a participant and beneficiary of the development of the internet industry [in China] and we are particularly grateful for this,” Zhang said. “We firmly believe that regulated development is the future, and only with self-discipline can an industry prosper. It is a vigorous and orderly regulatory system and platform economy ecosystem that can benefit all stakeholders.” At the same conference, the provincial government broke its silence on the investigation . “A single flower does not make a spring,” Yuan Jiajun, Zhejiang’s provincial party secretary said. “We need to serve and support the innovation and development of platform enterprises and explore monopoly boundaries to promote enterprises to operate in accordance with laws and regulations.” On Thursday, the company, whose headquarters are in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang, “voluntarily accepted” and “actively cooperated” with an on-site investigation by law enforcement officers from China’s antitrust watchdog, the State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR), according to local media Hangzhou.com.cn. Part of the Beijing’s antitrust probe into the e-commerce giant which has so far wiped out, officers were at the company’s Hangzhou headquarters to conduct interviews as well as collect evidence and relevant materials, the local regulator told Hangzhou media on Friday. The on-site investigation took only one day and was “smooth and orderly.” SAMR announced on Thursday it was investigating Alibaba over alleged monopolistic business practices including the “picking one from the two” practice, which forces online merchants to choose only one platform as their exclusive distribution channel. Alibaba is the parent company of the South China Morning Post . The antitrust investigation into Alibaba, part of Beijing’s efforts to tame the development of the country's tech behemoths, is widely watched as it matters not only to the business prospects of the country’s largest e-commerce player but also the potential of internet platform companies in China. Official media, including People’s Daily , has been framing the investigation as a step to help the industry. Alibaba had 881 million mobile monthly active users as of September and reported 155.1 billion yuan (US$23.8 billion) in revenue for the third quarter, a 30 per cent increase year on year. During this year’s Singles’ Day, the world’s largest online shopping festival which Alibaba started, the company broke previous records with 498 billion yuan in gross sales. After the investigation was announced on Thursday, Alibaba’s US-listed shares fell 13 per cent, its biggest one-day drop since its 2014 debut on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock slumped to the lowest level since July and was down 30 per cent on Thursday from an October peak. Alibaba’s stock price fell 8.1 per cent in half-day trading on Christmas Eve in Hong Kong to HK$228.20.