IBM Starts E-Commerce Cooperation With South China CityInternational Business Machines Corp. (IBM) of the United States Wednesday signed an e-commerce cooperative contract with the Jiangmen City government of south China's Guangdong Province.This is the first such contract the IBM has signed with local governments in China. According to the contract, IBM will help the city train e- commerce personnel, build a local e-commerce platform, and familiarize local companies with the latest high technology. The IBM project is part of the RISE program (Regional Integration for Sustainable Economies), which was set up by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and Pacific Economic Cooperation Council this May, aiming to accelerate local agricultural and urban development worldwide. IBM (China) CEO Peter Jen said IBM would like to use global resources for China's economic growth. IBM has already set up eight joint ventures and two solely-funded companies in 11 Chinese cities. Jiangmen, located in the western part of the Zhujiang Delta, was selected as the first test city in the world for the RISE program. As a well-known ancestral home of overseas Chinese, the city is listed in the fourth position among all the Guangdong cities in terms of its economic strength. It is also included in China's top 50 cities for its comprehensive development. Three-fourths of the city's 40 ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and ICPs (Internet Content Providers) deal in e-commerce service. |
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