The exterior view of the Ningbo Alibaba Center (Photo/ Sha Yishan)

It only takes 11 days from negotiation to the signing of the project agreement, and 40 days from negotiation to project landing! In the morning of June 28, the Alibaba Group’s comprehensive cooperation with Ningbo has achieved significant phased results, i.e., the Ningbo Alibaba Center, an independent legal entity, was officially unveiled and a large number of agreements for the development of digital projects were signed. Zheng Shanjie, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and Secretary of the CPC Ningbo Municipal Committee, and Zhang Yong, Chairman and CEO of the Alibaba Group, attended the unveiling ceremony and witnessed signing of the agreements for major projects.

Earlier on May 19, Ningbo and the Alibaba Group signed a comprehensive cooperation framework agreement, thus pressing the “fast forward” button for all-round and in-depth cooperation between the “famous city” of Ningbo and the "famous enterprise” of Alibaba. On that day, it was only 11 days after the two sides began to negotiate. Over the next month, the two sides communicated and connected with each other frequently, effectively promoting the preliminary work for 8 projects. During this period, the Taobao Live Broadcasting Industrial Base and the Taobao University took the lead in settling down in Ningbo, and a series of activities such as “Here Comes the Mayor” and “Intelligent Manufacturing” and so on were held.

The Ningbo Alibaba Center, unveiled on June 28, locates in the Yongshuiqiao, Haishu District. It is an independent legal entity established by the Alibaba Group in Ningbo, aiming at coordinating all business of the Alibaba Group in Ningbo and realizing all-round and in-depth cooperation with Ningbo. It can be called as the “Home” of the Alibaba Group in Ningbo.

The Ningbo Alibaba Center is to make full use of its advantage in digital economy, accelerate digital industrialization and industrial digitalization in Ningbo, expand the scale of kernel industries of the digital economy, give full play to the advantages of traditional trade empowerment, accelerate the transformation and upgrading of traditional trading industry in the Sanjiangkou Block, and promote the upgrading of the city’s commerce and trade, give full play to the advantages of innovation and ecological agglomeration, and form a benign linkage with the Yongjiang Science and Technology Innovation Corridor, thus bringing fusion effect to the scientific and technological innovation and the development of new rising industries in Ningbo.

As is learnt, Ningbo is to cooperate with the Ningbo Alibaba Center, focusing on advantageous industries of petrochemical, auto manufacturing, household electrical appliances and textile and garment and so on, strengthening cooperation in the field of industrial internet, co-developing a leading “industrial internet city” of Ningbo in China, jointly building a digital supply chain center and a national cross-border e-commerce hub as well as a new international trading center of global competitiveness and hub type, setting up the Digital Ningbo Co., Ltd. to accelerate the digital transformation of the Ningbo Government, urban digital governance and the construction of a new smart city of Ningbo, co-developing Alibaba Cloud New Manufacturing & Innovation Center to strengthen online and offline interactions, introduce high-quality innovation ecology, and jointly build a national leading talent training center, an incubation acceleration center and a technology output center, and strengthening brand promotion of the “Made in Ningbo”, so as to introduce more high-quality enterprises and innovative teams and jointly develop a single champion city of Ningbo for the development of the manufacturing industry.

The Digital Ningbo Co., Ltd. and the Alibaba Cloud New Manufacturing Innovation Center were unveiled onsite as well. The Ningbo Alibaba Center signed agreements with the Haishu District People’s Government and the Ningbo Urban Construction Investment Holding Co., Ltd. for cooperation in new retail; with the SUPCON and Bluetron, the Ningbo Alibaba Center signed memorandums on industrial Internet cooperation; the Haishu District Bureau of Commerce signed a digital life service business cooperation agreement with the Ningbo Alibaba Center, and the Jiangbei District people’s Government signed with the Center a cooperation agreement for the development of the Alibaba Cloud Ningbo Industrial Internet Center; a cooperation agreement on the development of an industrial internet platform for the household electrical appliance industry was signed between the Ningbo Artificial Intelligent Industry Research Institute and the Ningbo Alibaba Center; the Center also signed an agreement on cooperation for the development of the Ningbo Trusted Block-chain Platform of the household electrical appliance industry with the College of Science & Technology, Ningbo University. The activity of “7.17 Life Carnival Boosting an International Consumption City of Ningbo” was also launched.

Chen Zhongchao, a leader of the Ningbo City, and Chu Mengxing, Xu Qiang and Bo Huimin, leaders of the Haishu District, participated in the activity.