Shanxi authorities met with a delegation from Alibaba Group, the largest e-commerce giant in China, in Taiyuan on Dec 2 to discuss further cooperation and investment in IT and e-commerce.

Lou Yangsheng, governor of Shanxi, introduced the province's plans for developing its IT industry and expressed hopes for a prosperous partnership.

"Shanxi aims to grow its digital economy and build itself into a smart province by advancing information technology, including cloud computing, internet of things and big data," said Lou.

He invited Alibaba to invest and construct IT infrastructure in the province, such as big data centers, expand its applications of big data in government management and public service, and further the cooperation with Shanxi on vertically integrating its business in the local big data industry.

Zhong Tianhua, vice CEO of Alibaba, said, "Alibaba will seek to help Shanxi boost innovation and the upgrading of industries through supporting local e-commerce and big data industries."

Shanxi's first Alibaba cross-border e-commerce incubation base settled in Yuci district in Jinzhong in June 2016. On Oct 13 this year, Alibaba signed a rural e-commerce project with Taiyuan’s Pingding county. Most recently, the group, as well as other internet companies, settled at the Shanxi Emperor Penguin E-Commerce Innovation Park.