To assist American entrepreneurs, farmers, and business owners in reaching Chinese consumers and exploring potential growth opportunities, Alibaba Group is hosting Gateway ’17 on June 20th-21st in Detroit, Michigan.
“Last year, China surpassed the U.S. as the world’s largest retail market, with spending topping U.S. $4.84 trillion. By next year, China’s online spending will be greater than the rest of the world combined,” said Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group, Jack Ma, in an open letter inviting businesses to the event. “At Alibaba, we want to help you take advantage of this appetite for consumption through our e-commerce marketplaces.”
Jack Ma will be delivering one of the keynote speeches at Gateway ’17, along with UPS chairman and CEO, David Abney, and executive editor and anchor, Charlie Rose. The event will also feature marketplace networking opportunities, sessions based around business solutions and category breakout, and is projected to attract over 1,000 businesses.
Mike Duggan, the Mayor of Detroit, was happy to have Detroit hosting the event, commenting that, “A company with the reach and influence of Alibaba could have chosen any city to host its first conference and we are thrilled they picked Detroit. This represents a great opportunity for Detroit’s small business owners and entrepreneurs to have access to Alibaba’s global network.”
