(Yicai Global) Oct. 27 -- US meat giant Smithfield Foods Inc. [NYSE:SFD] and Chinese online retailer JD.com Inc. [NASDAQ:JD] have struck a strategic deal under which the e-commerce operator will become Smithfield's exclusive online marketing channel for pork products in China.

The duo held a signing ceremony to celebrate the agreement on Oct. 24 in New York. As well as pairing up in sales, they will team up to tackle Big Data, cold chain logistics and product traceability to achieve a seamless link in distribution from the US to China.

The cooperation will be an important strategic step for Chinese meat producer WH Group Ltd. [HKG:0288] in its home country after it acquired Smithfield in 2013, allowing safe, high quality meat to be delivered directly to Chinese consumers.

In the first half of this year, total turnover of meat on JD.com soared 780 percent on the year, making it China's largest online retail platform for pork.

As part of their Big Data partnership, the two firms will conduct data analysis on Smithfield's products and study consumer behavior to deliver more accurate marketing.