2. Internet enterprises must shoulder their social responsibilities in the current socio-economic environment
The Internet has passed through technology-driven, product-driven and commerce-driven stages over the past 10 years. Today the Internet has penetrated all aspects of people's lives, including work, study and entertainment.
The Internet reaches so many people and wields so much influence that it must face up to its social responsibilities. Internet businesses in China recognize that as well as broadening and opening up people's outlooks, the Internet also has a darker side. Chinese Internet businessmen are committed to using self-regulation to promote the construction of an Internet society based on trust and to creating a healthy and green Internet.
In the present economic downturn, Internet businesses need to pay particular attention to two major issues: the survival and growth of SMEs, and job creation.
Limited by their own resources and foundations, SMEs worldwide have been hit particularly hard by the economic crisis, affecting the operation of numerous industrial sectors, as well as the macro-economy. The most immediate task facing Internet businesses, and especially e-commerce businesses, is to help SMEs survive the crisis.
In 2008 Alibaba took concrete measures to help SMEs weather the financial storm. We helped them to find new export markets, expand the domestic market, solve financing problems, and providing them with free software. Surveys show that in 2008 SMEs who did business through e-commerce were 5 times more likely to survive than traditional enterprises.
Jobs are vital to people's wellbeing. Economic growth has been the main factor driving job creation in China. But with growth affected by the financial crisis, China is facing challenges on the jobs front. The registered urban unemployment rate hit 4.2 percent in 2008, the highest for three years. The problems facing rural migrant workers and college graduates are especially severe. The government is gravely concerned about the employment situation and has taken a series of measures to boost job opportunities, with a good deal of success.
But creating jobs is not just the responsibility of the government, it also is every businessman's duty. The highest responsibility of business is to create jobs. And there has never been a better time for businessmen to demonstrate their social responsibility. Creating jobs is one of Alibaba's strategic goals. Together with our partners and online commercial communities we have formed a commercial network that has directly created many jobs: Alibaba itself has hired many employees; our e-commerce business facilitates the creation of countless jobs; and Alibaba provides employment opportunities to its partners in the logistics and software industries. We plan to recruit a further 5,000 employees in 2009. The Taobao network, whose transaction volume exceeded 99.6 billion yuan in 2008, has pioneered an entirely new form of employment. Last year Tabao created 570,000 full-time jobs, equal to the number of jobs created in Shanghai over the same period. And Taobao plans to create another million jobs over the next few years.
