Alibaba Shows More Than Heart

by Li Zhuoxi

On April 21， 2020， Fortune magazine published a list of the worlds 25 greatest anti-epidemic leaders of the year. Jack Ma， the founder of Alibaba Group， ranked third.

As COVID-19 continues to spread globally， the Alibaba Foundation and the Jack Ma Foundation have launched a series of initiatives to confront the pandemic including allocating 100 million yuan （US$14.1 million） for scientific research projects， donating over 100 million pieces of emergency epidemic prevention supplies to more than 150 countries and regions across five continents， and establishing a global COVID-19 information sharing platform covering 233 countries and regions. On April 21， the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation donated 100 million medical masks， a million N95 masks， and a million nucleic acid reagent test kits to the World Health Organization （WHO） to support its anti-pandemic efforts worldwide. The director-general of the WHO， prime ministers of Canada， Ethiopia and Somalia， presidents of Rwanda， Kenya and Madagascar， and leaders of international organizations all expressed gratitude to Jack Ma and the foundations for their support of global anti-epidemic efforts. In times of crisis， Chinese companies and charitable organizations have become important forces in the global fight against the pandemic. “At this moment， sharing resources， experience and lessons with everyone regardless of identity is our only chance to win，” declared Jack Ma， the founder of the Jack Ma Foundation.

Quick Response

In late February， the battlefield of the worlds pandemic fight changed dramatically. After the outbreak of the international pandemic， the first shipment of aid materials from the Alibaba Foundation and the Jack Ma Foundation arrived in Japan on March 2. Subsequently， the organizations quickly sent emergency pandemic prevention materials to countries with severe situations in Asia， Europe and the Americas as well as donating medical supplies to all 54 countries in Africa.

Many countries and regions now have urgent needs for emergency supplies. Prioritizing and responding to the needs of various countries is the first checkpoint for the team. “Alibaba has many channels for receiving calls for materials，” explained Wang Ruihe， secretary-general of the Alibaba Foundation. “We get information from enterprises and government departments in other countries and receive many personal help requests. Some embassies and international organizations even reach us by calling the Taobao customer service hotline.”

Countries around the world are now experiencing the precise difficulties China endured over the past two months. Because Alibaba was so deeply involved in Chinas domestic fight against the epidemic， it can predict the needs of various countries and adjust and increase the supply of emergency supplies according to the development and changes of the world pandemic situation. For example， as the virus spread， ventilators became a scarce and vital medical device， so Alibaba urgently dispatched shipments of ventilators to Europe and Africa. For some underdeveloped countries in Latin America and Africa with limited capacities to respond to the pandemic， Alibaba prepared appropriate emergency supplies in advance before an outbreak even erupted. Some African countries had no COVID-19 detection abilities whatsoever. The foundation donated virus detection equipment and cold chain transportation devices to comprehensively solve practical problems.

“Thank you for the generous donation of reagents and protective materials！” declared Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on social media. “This is a true manifestation of friendship， and unity is the only way to win！” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo thanked Alibaba specifically in an interview.

The international mobilization and distribution of anti-epidemic materials has also been a major challenge. Reports show that the pandemic has caused more than 50 airlines worldwide to suspend flights， with tens of thousands of flights cancelled. The luggage cabins of passenger aircraft carry nearly 50 percent of international cargo. Every suspended passenger flight eliminates corresponding cargo capacity. In such circumstances， Alibabas long-running Cainiao international logistics network has become a“lifeline” to ensure distribution of global emergency supplies.

“We use multiple logistics trunk lines developed by the e-WTP electronic world trade platform to deliver materials to hub warehouses around the world and then achieve secondary distribution through the Cainiao logistics network，”explained Wang. “For example， emergency materials bound for Europe will be shipped to the Liege warehouse in Belgium. More than 100 trucks are on standby in Europe to transport materials from the Liege warehouse to places determined by the logistics big data system. Many European countries have closed their borders， making it extremely difficult to move throughout the continent. Thanks to our early establishment of a complete logistics network， we can ensure that even during the pandemic， materials will reach the front lines quickly. The more quickly we deliver， the more lives we will save.”

Building on Past Work

Alongside donating emergency medical materials， the Alibaba Foundation and the Jack Ma Foundation jointly launched the Global MediXchange for Combating COVID-19 （GMCC）.

The GMCC covers 233 countries and regions through four centers： The Resources Sharing Center， International Medical Expert Communication Center， COVID-19 Overseas Chinese Consultation Center， and Fighting COVID-19 Technology Center. The centers collaborate with Chinas frontline hospitals and medical staff to share Chinese anti-epidemic experience and provide available technical support through internet technology. With help from the First Affiliated Hospital of the College of Medicine of Zhejiang University， GMCC compiled a H andbook of COVID-19 Prevention and Treatment. The handbook outlining Chinas epidemic control experience was translated into 21 languages， so that medical personnel in other countries would not need to start from scratch. Downloads for the handbook have reached 600，000， most from overseas.

Soon after the handbook was released， the platform received consulting requests from more than 440 hospitals around the world. To help overseas medical professionals better exchange experience with Chinese doctors on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19， Alibaba quickly put online an International Medical Expert Communication Center. It supports real-time translation in 11 languages including English， Japanese and Spanish and provides free audio and video teleconferencing， live broadcasting and other functions to share information in complex scenarios. With the help of the online communication center， hospitals in various countries can conduct teleconferencing and engage in consultation with their Chinese counterparts. About 3，000 infectious disease doctors from nearly 120 countries and regions have already joined the worlds largest online anti-epidemic public welfare campaign launched by China.

More Than Meets the Eye

Alongside the two foundations， multiple departments of the Alibaba conglomerate have participated in the global anti-epidemic campaign. For example， international teams like Cainiao Network， Alibaba.com and Lazada became deeply involved as were divisions related to financial， legal and governmental affairs， AliHealth and Aliyun.

“Only about 40 people work in the Alibaba Foundation and the Jack Ma Foundation， and their average age is under 30，” revealed Wang Ruihe. “Since this years Spring Festival， no one has had a day off or even gone to bed before midnight. No one in the world was prepared for the outbreak， which has made the process of transnational donation even more complex than we imagined. We are doing far more than people have ever seen.”

“I often encourage the team by mentioning that when this is all over， everyone can be capable of starting an import-export company，”added Wang. “From procurement， warehousing， customs clearance and commodity inspection to international logistics and transportation， we know how do them by heart now. Jack Ma once said that we need not only love in our hearts to work on public welfare， but also the ‘ability to love to work practically and efficiently. After the pandemic， we plan to compile a set of operation handbooks to deal with major disasters so that in emergencies， a system of communication， operation and implementation can be organized quickly， enabling Alibaba Group to play a greater role.”