Alibaba needs to be much more than just the “Amazon of China”

After taking over the reins, Alibaba Group’s new CEO has made global expansion a top priority for the Chinese e-commerce giant. Alibaba will heavily invest in “new and existing overseas operations,” said Daniel Zhang in a speech on Wednesday to employees, an excerpt of which was posted on the group’s website. Zhang, 43, was the company’s chief operating officer until he replaced CEO Jonathan Lu last week, as the group said it was looking to tap new younger talent. In his speech, Zhang said he wants to recruit talent from other countries and adopt “global thinking.” If the company can’t globalize, then Alibaba won’t last, he said. Most of Alibaba’s business is still centered on China where it runs two of the country’s largest online retail sites, Tmall.com and Taobao Marketplace. Although there’s still plenty of room for growth in China, the company has been gradually expanding into foreign markets, where it could end up competing with Amazon.com and eBay.