Alibaba Group has committed US$15.5bn to finance 10 initiatives promoting ‘common prosperity’ in China, supporting a nationwide push towards a fairer society.
To this end, Alibaba has set up a dedicated task force, spearheaded by Group Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang, to see through each initiative by 2025, the company said in a statement.
The task force will focus on technology innovation, economic development, creating high-quality jobs, care for vulnerable groups, as well as launching a RMB20bn Common Prosperity Development Fund that will help cut income inequality in Alibaba’s home province of Zhejiang.
“Alibaba is a beneficiary of the strong social and economic progress in China over the past 22 years. We firmly believe that if society is doing well and the economy is doing well, then Alibaba will do well,” said Zhang in the statement.
Hangzhou-headquartered Alibaba’s pledge is one of the largest made by a private sector company this year in alignment with China’s efforts to reduce income inequality.
China’s campaign to reduce the country’s wealth gap dates back to the foundation of the Communist Party but has come into greater focus this year after President Xi Jinping pledged to make solid progress towards common prosperity by 2035 after eradicating extreme poverty.
