The Indian government has partnered with China’s Alibaba.com on an export-focused program aimed at helping startups and small businesses reach overseas buyers. The move highlights New Delhi’s selective engagement with China-linked technology platforms, years after imposing a blanket ban on consumer apps and games.
This week, the Government of India’s Startup India Initiative announced a collaboration with Alibaba.com to identify and support Indian startups that can help introduce and scale Indian exporters on the group’s global B2B platform. The program provides fees and technical support to small manufacturers and traders to help these startups expand into overseas markets.
A new partnership between India and China comes after years of tension. In 2020, New Delhi banned dozens of China-related apps, including major platforms such as TikTok, PUBG Mobile, and e-commerce app AliExpress, run by Alibaba Group, following deadly border clashes. These restrictions remain in place, and public cooperation between the Indian government and Alibaba’s export-focused platform has been a carefully limited form of engagement rather than a broader policy reset.
India’s export ambitions are closely tied to small and medium-sized enterprises and the platforms they use to enter foreign markets. MSMEs account for nearly half of the country’s exports and about 31% of its GDP, according to the Indian government’s latest economic survey, underscoring why New Delhi is focused on expanding SMEs’ access to digital markets through global B2B channels, including Alibaba.com.
Alibaba.com’s B2B platform connects more than 50 million active buyers across more than 200 countries and regions, said Rocky Lu, head of the company’s India operations.
“Alibaba.com has been operating in India for over 20 years and remains dedicated to our core mission of helping MSMEs expand their businesses globally,” Lu told TechCrunch. “We remain focused on leveraging our digital infrastructure and helping ‘Made in India’ products reach users across the world through digital transformation.”
Lu did not confirm whether Startup India’s initiative would be Alibaba.com’s first direct partnership with India’s federal government since 2020, but said the company “maintains consistent engagement with various government and semi-government agencies essential to India’s export ecosystem,” including through digital training programs for MSMEs and collaboration with the Export Promotion Council.
Kazim Rizvi, founding director of The Dialogue, a New Delhi-based public policy think tank, said the partnership reflects India’s differentiated approach to China, allowing for economic engagement where there is clear benefit while maintaining limits in strategic and security-sensitive areas.
“Regulatory clarity will be important going forward,” Rizvi told TechCrunch. “A predictable policy environment can help ensure startups can participate in such initiatives with confidence.”
George Chen, partner and co-chair of the digital practice at Asia Group, a Washington-based consultancy that advises companies on policy and geopolitical risks across Asia, said the Indian government appears to be making a distinction between export-focused platforms and consumer-facing Chinese apps. Chen, who previously served as regional public policy director at Mehta, said New Delhi sees value in Alibaba’s role in supporting B2B exports, which could help Indian exporters diversify their sales globally, especially given the platform’s reach in markets such as Africa.
Chen told TechCrunch that India appears to be learning lessons from China’s approach to digital platforms.
“While China bans foreign apps such as Facebook and Instagram from Chinese individual users, it still allows Facebook and Google to do business with Chinese companies, especially exporters who rely on these platforms to sell their products overseas,” Chen said.
The partnership with Startup India follows Alibaba.com’s recent efforts to expand its export-focused services in India. In June 2025, the company launched a trade assurance program in the country aimed at helping small and medium-sized Indian exporters manage the risks of cross-border trade through payment protection and dispute resolution tools.
The move comes even as India and China show tentative signs of improved participation in multilateral technology forums, with a Chinese representative expected to attend the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi next week. However, Indian authorities have not signaled any changes to regulations on Chinese consumer technology platforms.
India’s Ministry of Commerce did not respond to requests for comment.
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