The first regular-season US college basketball game in China has landed a major supporter.

Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd will partner with the Pac-12 Conference in putting on the first Pac-12 China Game - between the universities of Washington and Texas - on Nov 14 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, the conference announced on Wednesday in San Francisco.

"We are proud to welcome Alibaba Group as a partner for our first-ever Pac-12 China Game," Commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement. "Alibaba's innovative spirit and excellence are compatible with Pac-12's values, and will be critical as we focus on growing our activities in China and providing our student-athletes with transformative educational and cultural experiences."

"We are proud to partner with the Pac-12 to bring this historic game to China," said Jim Wilkinson, Alibaba Group's senior vice-president. "This game and Alibaba Group's involvement is consistent with our commitment to bringing the best of the world to China.

"This partnership is about so much more than a basketball game," Wilkinson said. "As these student-athletes complete their education and enter the global economy, China-US relations will be central to the future of the world in which they live."

The game will be played at 11 a.m. Shanghai time and broadcast live in the United States on ESPN on Nov 13 at 7 pm PT / 10 pm ET. The game also will be distributed live via Alibaba's mobile and digital platforms.

The partnership with Alibaba will continue into the 2016-2017 year. A second regular- season Pac-12 China Game will be announced at a later date.

Alibaba is also developing a daylong academic program for the visiting student-athletes. Both basketball teams will travel from Shanghai to Hangzhou. In addition to experiencing Hangzhou culture and history, the teams will visit Alibaba headquarters for an educational program. The program will seek to educate the student-athletes on societal, cultural and business trends in China, including in e-commerce. The visit to Alibaba's campus will coincide with the 11.11 Shopping Festival, the biggest online-shopping day in the world.

Chinese students at Pac-12 schools number more than 21,000. The other Pac-12 schools are the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, University of California-Berkeley, the University of California-Los Angeles, University of Colorado, University of Oregon, Oregon State University, University of Southern California, University of Utah and Washington State University. Texas is a member of the Big 12 Conference.