Jack Ma shares tips at Internet summit

Jack Ma Yun, lead founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group, at the World Internet Conference, Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, Nov 20, 2014. [Photo: China News Service/ Li Chenyun ]

Jack Ma Yun, lead founder and executive chairman of China's Alibaba Group, said at the World Internet Conference (WIC) in Wuzhen that he credits the success of his company to holding true to a vision of the future.

Ma said Alibaba positioned itself as an e-commerce enabler 15 yearts ago , anticipating that China's small businesses would play an important role in the economy and choosing to partner with them.

The WIC, has gathered China's Internet tycoons and government officials together with foreign cyberspace titans. On hand are participants from Apple, Facebook, Cisco, and China's top three Internet companies, search engine Baidu, Alibaba and instant messaging provider Tencent.

The conference, which began Nov 19 and continues until Friday, carries the slogan "An interconnected world shared and governed by all." The event is the first of its kind in China.

When discussing the online sale of fake goods, Ma said only the Internet can solve the problem of counterfeits.

"After some research among fake goods producers in Guangdong and Fujian provinces, you may find that they are now afraid to sell their products on Taobao, as we can track them down easily and report to the police," he said.

When asked about alleged competition between Alibaba and Amazon, Ma said that there is a difference in management philosophy between the East and the West.

"In the East, Taoism stresses the connection between humans and nature. Confucianism focuses on the connection between humans and society, and Buddhism seeks a connection between humans and their inner heart," said Ma.