India partners with Alibaba.com for export push despite past China tech bans

India’s 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 Chinese-linked tech platforms years after it imposed sweeping bans on consumer apps and games.

This week, the Indian government’s Startup India initiative announced the collaboration with Alibaba.com to identify and support Indian startups that can help onboard and scale Indian exporters on the group’s global B2B platform. The program offers commissions and technical support to those startups to assist small manufacturers and traders in reaching overseas markets.

The new partnership arrives after years of strained India–China relations. New Delhi banned dozens of Chinese-linked apps in 2020 following a deadly border clash, including major platforms such as TikTok, PUBG Mobile, and AliExpress, an e-commerce app operated by Alibaba Group. Those restrictions remain in place, making the Indian government’s public collaboration with Alibaba’s export-focused platform a carefully circumscribed form of engagement rather than a broader policy reset.

India’s export ambitions are closely tied to its small businesses and the platforms they use to reach overseas markets. Micro, small, and medium enterprises account for nearly half of the country’s exports and about 31% of GDP, according to the Indian government’s latest Economic Survey, underlining why New Delhi has focused on expanding digital market access for smaller firms through global B2B channels, including Alibaba.com.

Alibaba.com’s B2B platform connects more than 50 million active buyers across over 200 countries and regions, said Rocky Lu, head of India business at the company.

“Alibaba.com has been active in India for over two decades, and we remain dedicated to our core mission of empowering MSMEs to scale their businesses globally,” Lu told TechCrunch. “Our focus continues to be on leveraging our digital infrastructure to help ‘Made in India’ products reach an international audience through digital transformation.”

Lu did not confirm whether the Startup India initiative marks Alibaba.com’s first direct partnership with India’s federal government since 2020. He said, however, that the company has “maintained a consistent cadence of engagement with various government and semi-government bodies integral to the Indian export ecosystem,” including through digital training programs for MSMEs and collaborations with export promotion councils.

The partnership reflects India’s differentiated approach toward China, maintaining restrictions in strategic and security-sensitive sectors while allowing economic engagement where there is clear benefit, said Kazim Rizvi, founding director of the New Delhi-based public policy think tank The Dialogue.

“Going forward, regulatory clarity will be important,” Rizvi told TechCrunch. “Predictable policy environments will help ensure that startups feel confident participating in such initiatives.”

The Indian government seems to be drawing a distinction between export-focused platforms and consumer-facing Chinese apps, said George Chen, partner and co-chair of the digital practice at The Asia Group, a Washington-based consultancy that advises companies on policy and geopolitical risks across Asia. Chen, who previously served as a regional public policy director at Meta, said New Delhi sees value in Alibaba’s role in supporting B2B exports, particularly given the platform’s reach in markets such as Africa, which could help Indian exporters diversify their global sales.

India appears to be drawing lessons from China’s approach to digital platforms, Chen told TechCrunch.

“China bans foreign apps like Facebook and Instagram for Chinese individual users but still allows Facebook and Google to do business with Chinese companies, especially exporters who rely on those platforms to sell products abroad,” Chen said.

The Startup India collaboration follows other recent steps by Alibaba.com to expand export-focused services in India. In June 2025, the company launched its Trade Assurance program in the country, aimed at helping Indian small and medium-sized exporters manage risks in cross-border transactions through payment protection and dispute resolution tools.

The developments also come as India and China show tentative signs of improved engagement in multilateral technology forums, with Chinese representatives expected to attend the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi next week. Indian officials, however, have not indicated any change to restrictions on Chinese consumer technology platforms.

The Indian commerce ministry did not respond to a request for comments.