JD com : to Invest 12 Billion RMB in Tianjin

by Kelly Dawson

JD and the city of Tianjin signed a cooperation agreement on July 26, outlining an expansive plan in which the e-commerce giant will invest RMB 12 billion yuan in the city to drive 50,000 jobs and drive the city's digital transformation. The cooperation is under the framework of China's 14^th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).

Leveraging JD's advantages in digital technology, the cooperation will promote the construction of a new digital economy innovation center, a smart manufacturing digital technology industrial park, a connected intelligent vehicle manufacturing industrial park, an intelligent computing power and operation center, and other projects. JD will also open new offline stores as part of its omni-channel expansion, including supermarket chain SEVEN FRESH, JD convenience stores and other retail formats.

Additionally, JD will give full play to its advantages in digital technology and supply chain to support Tianjin's transformation into a smart city, participating in the construction and operation of an industrial digital platform for the city, accelerating the implementation of new smart distribution models, integrating the cultural and tourism industries, and jointly building a new online trading platform for both imported and domestic brand cars.

The cooperation will also support JD's efforts to promote rural revitalization, supporting the local agriculture industry. Relying on JD's B2C e-commerce platform, B2B2C community shopping platform, B2B supply platform and conveniences across the country, JD will establish a diversified upstream channel for local agricultural specialty products and help improve the economic conditions of local farmers in the greater area of Tianjin.

JD previously entered into cooperation with Hubei province in 2020, investing RMB 6 billion in the region to support the local economy, build next-generation infrastructure, and construct a series of smart city services including an emergency material management platform and digital media information service platform. JD has also pledged to support local brands in Hubei by growing their business and marketing to the e-commerce platform's more than 500 million customers.

Additionally, JD has been working together with NVIDIA to transform Changshu, Jiangsu province into a smart city serviced by widespread use of JD's autonomous delivery vehicles.

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