(Yicai Global) Aug. 17 -- Shanghai's governmentreached a cooperation agreement withAlibaba Group Holding andits internet financingplatform Ant Financial in the city yesterday.

The high-levelcollaboration between Alibaba andcityauthoritieswill give afilliptothe eastern Chinese megacityin buildingits'Shanghai Shopping'brand with new retail, promote the construction ofaninternationalmetropolisbased ondigitalsources, and further boost the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region, thecitygovernmentannounced.

Alibaba and Ant Financial are set to expand their investments in Shanghai, hasten the construction of Alibaba Shanghai Center, Alipay headquarters in Pudong district,andAnt Fortune headquarters in Huangpu district, as well as new retail industries, and put into place major industrial projects like intelligent logistics hubs and centers. Shanghai will occupy a more prominent position in theoverall matrixof the Chinese e-commerce giant,under the agreement.

The companyis committed to making breakthroughs in key core technologies and pursuing long-term development, with many of its businesses highly consistent with the development direction of Shanghai. Thecitygovernment will provide full support for it to optimize the industrialpatternintown, innovate application scenarios, advance the building of a smart city, and propel the growth ofsectors likeinternet finance and new retail.

The agreementwilloffer theparties an opportunity to jointly achieve greater development by better leveraging their respective advantages, said Li Qiang, secretary of the rulingcommunist party'sShanghaicommittee.

Under the committee's leadership, themunicipalitywill strive to implement the new round of cooperation, speed up the pace of transforming government functions, optimize the business environment, andextendstrong support tosuperiorcompaniessuch asAlibaba and Ant Financial so that they enjoy a brighter future in Shanghai, said the city's mayor Ying Yong.

Alibaba's Executive Chairman Jack Ma acknowledged the substantial growth potential for Shanghai in the future and revealed the next moves tocementthe cityas a stronghold for more new businesses, new technologies, new products and new models.

Alibaba willalsoseize thegreatopportunity the first China International Import Expo slated to debut in Shanghaiin November providesand give full play to its own strengths tocontributeto building Shanghai into a commodity import hub deliveringgoodsnationwideand servingthe Asia-Pacific region based on an integrated network in the Yangtze River Delta region.

The two signed theirfirst cooperation framework agreement in 2015. The past three yearshave attested totangible achievements in a series of collaborative programs, including the Beidou navigation satellite system, cloud computing, big data, smart city, internet financial services, intelligent logistics backbone networksand cross-border e-commerce.

Editor: Ben Armour