China Mobile, Alibaba sign strategic partnership

A view of Alibaba Group's headquarters in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, March 21, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

China Mobile and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd inked a comprehensive strategic partnership on Wednesday, as the world's largest telecom carrier by subscribers, and China's largest e-commerce firm joined hands to boost growth.

Under the agreement, the two sides will work closely in basic telecommunication services, information infrastructure, marketing and emerging sectors, China Mobile said in a statement.

The move came shortly after Alibaba signed a similar deal with China Unicom, the country's second-largest telecom carrier, last month.

China Mobile is stepping up efforts to expand presence in the internet industry, and China Unicom also wants to arrest its continuing profit decline by partnering with internet giants.

This is not the first time that China Mobile teamed up with Alibaba. The two sides are already working closely in internet data centers, e-commerce and mobile payment. They will also jointly tap into opportunities brought by cloud computing, the internet of things, smart electronic gadgets and other emerging sectors, China Mobile said.