Amazon Prime arrives in China to further challenge Alibaba
What will Jack Ma do?
With over 63 million people already paying for Prime, Amazon is now expanding its subscription service to one of the largest marketplaces in the world: China. The retailer has announced that mainland users can now enjoy free, unlimited shipping on millions of domestic items, as well as others from the special "overseas orders" category. As part of a promotion that lasts until February, Amazon is offering the membership for $188 yuan (around $30) for the first year. Once this rate ends, Prime will cost 388 yuan (about $60) every 12 months.
Amazon says certain packages could take five to nine days to be delivered within China, specifically those being shipped from the US and other fulfillment centers abroad. Of course, the launch of Prime in China is all part of Amazon's plan to further challenge Alibaba on its home turf, where it has more than 434 million active users.
The question now is how will the Chinese tech giant react to the news. After all, we know Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba, isn't known for being a man of few words.
