China's logistics industry has grown as online shopping has become increasingly popular. However, it has also been criticized for its inability to satisfy the great demand of e-commerce delivery.
Alibaba aims to make deliveries between any two places in China within 24 hours once the network - China Smart Logistic Network - is finished.
"It's like building a road so that cars can run on it," said Yang Lei, public relations director of Alibaba. He added that Alibaba will not do the deliveries itself, just like it doesn't sell things itself but instead builds the infrastructure for others to sell.
Alibaba and its partners will set up warehouses across China and build a data system that tracks trade and delivery information of suppliers, sellers and buyers to improve the efficiency and quality of deliveries, Yang said.
