Lenovo Group, the world's biggest supplier of PCs, has inked a deal with e-commerce website JD.com in a bid to boost its online sales. JD.com, China's second-largest online retailer, recently debuted in Forbes 500 as the first Chinese online e-commerce firm to make it to the prestigious list.

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This deal would benefit Hong Kong-listed Lenovo as it aims to boost the domestic sales of its smartphones. The move is also seen as a counter to the ascendance of fast-rising technology start-up Xiaomi.

Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo's chairman and CEO, announced in Beijing on Wednesday that JD.com will serve as the company's preferred online marketing site, where it will introduce new products such as notebook, desktop computers, and other office equipment and smart devices.

The partnership with JD.com also involves "data sharing, technological innovation, and online channel development," Yuanquing said, as reported by South China Morning Post. The company expects that the deal would broaden "Lenovo's understanding of customer needs" to ensure the continued development of customized products.

JD.com, which trades on Nasdaq, operates just like Amazon. It sells items directly to customers. It has in its inventory a sizable online marketplace with some of the most recognizable brands. JD's user base has seen a huge leap, increasing by 73 per cent to 169 million in 12 months, compared to 98 million in the previous year.

Richard Liu Qiangdong, JD.com's chairman and CEO, is elated for the strengthened partnership with Lenovo, praising the PC and smartphone maker "as a top provider of high-quality, innovative products for both the home and the office."

JD.com was the leading e-commerce platform in China for 3C products - computers, communications and consumer electronics - in the first quarter of this year, tapping 43.8 per cent of the Chinese market share in the 3c segment. Nevertheless, JD.com still has a long way to go, given that iResearch data showed that the  Alibaba subsidiary Tmall.com captured 51.3 per cent of China's broader online shopping market, earning 522.37 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2016.

TagsLenovo, JD.com