Jack Ma enlisted by British PM as business advisor

LONDON. KAZINFORM - Jack Ma, executive chairman of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has been appointed as anon-remunerated member of British Prime Minister David Cameron's Business AdvisoryGroup, according to Agence France-Presse.

The announcement came the day before a four-day state visit by Chinese President XiJinping, which is to cement ties between China and the United Kingdom. According to Cameron's spokeswoman, Ma will "provide particular help and advice on how toget small and medium-sized British businesses boosting their exports and in particularaccessing Chinese markets through platforms like Alibaba". Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne believe that close ties with China are vital tocementing Britain's economic growth in decades to come, according to Chinadaily.com.cn .

According to AFP, the Business Advisory Group had 19 members in July -- most are chiefexecutives of top British companies, including the heads of BP, EasyJet and Rolls-Royce. Two years ago, during a three-day visit to China, Cameron joined a closed-door meeting withMa to seek new opportunities for British companies in China's e-commerce sector.