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Alibaba Group Holding has so far dominated China's e-commerce market, and its Taobao and Tmall marketplaces continue to attract hundreds of millions of online shoppers. But the alliance between Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com and social media giant Tencent Holdings , announced Monday, will likely create a strong competitor to Alibaba.
到目前為止，阿里巴巴集團(Alibaba Group Holding)一直在中國電子商務市場占據(jù)支配地位，旗下的淘寶(Taobao)和天貓(Tmall)網(wǎng)站吸引著數(shù)以億計的網(wǎng)購者。但中國電子商務公司京東(JD.com)與社交媒體巨頭騰訊控股有限公司(Tencent Holdings, 簡稱：騰訊控股)周一宣布的結盟可能會給阿里巴巴帶來一個強大的競爭對手。
The deal, in which Tencent takes a 15% stake in JD, comes at a time when established Internet companies are scrambling to adapt to a new environment where more Chinese consumers use smartphones as primary Internet tools. The combination of Tencent's ability to attract smartphone users with its massively popular WeChat mobile messaging application, and JD's expertise in retail and logistics, could pose a threat to Alibaba when more e-commerce transactions occur through mobile devices, analysts say.
在這筆交易中，騰訊控股收購了京東15%的股份。該交易的達成正值各家知名互聯(lián)網(wǎng)公司都在努力適應新環(huán)境，因為已有越來越多的中國消費者使用智能手機作為主要的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)工具。分析師們指出，騰訊能夠通過其廣受歡迎的移動通信軟件微信(WeChat)吸引智能手機用戶，而京東在零售和物流方面擁有專業(yè)技術，二者的結合可能會促使更多的電子商務交易通過移動設備完成，從而對阿里巴巴構成威脅。
'For the first time ever, there will be a serious local contender to challenge Alibaba's dominance in e-commerce,' says Forrester Research analyst Bryan Wang.
Forrester Research分析師Bryan Wang說，這將是有史以來首次一個有實力的本地競爭者挑戰(zhàn)阿里巴巴在電子商務領域的主導地位。
An Alibaba spokeswoman declined to comment on the tie-up between Tencent and JD.
阿里巴巴的發(fā)言人未就騰訊入股京東的消息發(fā)表評論。
While Alibaba runs marketplace sites that serve as venues where millions of merchants sell items, JD, like Amazon.com , runs its own online store that sells goods kept in its own warehouses. Beijing-based JD also operates its own delivery services.
阿里巴巴開設的網(wǎng)上商城是為數(shù)百萬商家提供交易場所，而京東與亞馬遜公司(Amazon.com)一樣，經(jīng)營的是自己的網(wǎng)上商店，所賣的商品都保存在自己的倉庫中。總部位于北京的京東還經(jīng)營著自己的遞送服務。
Tencent, whose WeChat app has more than 272 million monthly active users, last year added an electronic payment function to the messaging tool, a step toward creating a broader mobile platform for other services such as video games and e-commerce.
目前微信每月的活躍用戶已超過2.72億。騰訊去年為微信增設了電子支付功能，朝著打造一個可提供視頻游戲和電子商務等其他服務的更廣闊移動平臺邁出了一步。
To be sure, just because WeChat can occupy smartphone users' time and attention doesn't mean it can also make people want to do a lot of shopping. Efforts to connect communication and e-commerce could put off some users if the commercial intention becomes too obvious.
可以肯定的是，雖然微信占用了智能手機用戶的時間和注意力，但這并不意味著人們想在微信上大肆購物。如果商業(yè)目的太過明顯，把通訊與電子商務綁在一起的做法反而可能會嚇跑一些用戶。
Still, there are ways for WeChat and JD to combine their services without annoying users too much, says Mr. Wang.
Wang說，不過微信和京東還是有辦法在不太惹惱用戶的前提下把它們的服務結合在一起。
While Tencent and JD haven't said how exactly they will cooperate in e-commerce, Mr. Wang says that Tencent could, for example, make it possible for WeChat users to share their purchase history on JD's shopping site with their friends. At the same time, JD could also allow shoppers on the site to view what their WeChat friends have said about certain items.
雖然騰訊和京東沒有具體透露將如何在電子商務領域開展合作，但Wang指出，騰訊可以這樣做――允許微信用戶在朋友間共享自己在京東網(wǎng)上商城的購物記錄，與此同時，京東也可以允許其網(wǎng)站用戶看到微信好友對京東上某件商品的評論。
'Chinese consumers take their friends' reviews very seriously,' says Mr. Wang.
Wang稱，中國的消費者很重視好友的看法。
Even so, Alibaba is still the most popular destination for online shopping for most Chinese consumers, either through personal computers or mobile phones, and challenging its position won't be easy. In November, on Alibaba's annual day of discounts called the 11.11 Shopping Festival, Taobao and Tmall generated more than $5.75 billion in sales just in 24 hours.
即便如此，無論是通過個人電腦還是手機平臺，阿里巴巴仍是大多數(shù)中國消費者網(wǎng)購的首選目的地，要挑戰(zhàn)其主導地位并非易事。去年11月份，在一年一度的阿里巴巴“雙十一”購物狂歡日，淘寶和天貓在短短24個小時里創(chuàng)造了逾57.5億美元的銷售額。
Alibaba, for its part, has made a series of acquisitions since last year to make its services more attractive to smartphone users. Last month, the company made a $1.13 billion offer to turn AutoNavi Holdings into a wholly owned unit, after it bought a 28% stake in the mobile map developer last year. Alibaba last year also bought an 18% stake in Sina's Weibo microblog, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, as a way to attract mobile users.
就阿里巴巴而言，該集團自去年以來開展了一連串的收購，以提升其服務對智能手機用戶的吸引力。在去年購入高德軟件有限公司(AutoNavi Holdings Ltd.) 28%的股份后，阿里巴巴上個月宣布將斥資11.3億美元全盤收購高德，把這家手機地圖軟件開發(fā)商變成其全資子公司。為了吸引手機用戶，阿里巴巴去年還購入新浪微博(Weibo)18%的股權。新浪微博類似于推特(Twitter)。
Tencent's deal with JD will put more pressure on Alibaba to further strengthen its mobile-based operations, while also improving its logistics and customer services, Mr. Wangs says.
Wang說，騰訊與京東結盟給阿里巴巴帶來更大的壓力，迫使其進一步強化基于移動平臺的業(yè)務，并改善物流和客戶服務。
'This will push Alibaba to change more quickly.'
他說，這將促使阿里巴巴以更快的步伐作出調(diào)整。
