New Delhi, Apr 26 (KNN) Policymakers and business leaders should create new rules and laws to strengthen trade and development, said Jack Ma, Alibaba's executive chairman.

The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is leveraging on China's Belt and Road initiative to bring small and medium enterprises (SMEs) closer to global trade, a China daily reported.

On the sidelines of the 2017 China Green Companies Summit held recently in Henan Province, Canadian ambassador to China John McCallum said, that Alibaba is co-hosting a trade fair with small merchants from Canada and China, as part of its efforts to gain presence in North America.

According to the report, Jack Ma, Alibaba's executive chairman, said during the meeting that the move is also part of a broader goal to "expand in line with the Belt and Road Initiative."

"We have plans for Canada, India and Japan, and we have plans for the Belt and Road Initiative," Ma said, as he urged policymakers and business leaders to create new rules and laws to strengthen trade and development.

To build e-commerce infrastructure and enhance regional connectivity, Alibaba has launched a virtual hub with easier entry for smaller firms in Malaysia, and also plans a hub in Thailand. Alibaba payment affiliate Ant Financial plans Alipay-like mobile payment services this year in other economies related to the Belt and Road.

According to the China daily report, Wang Jian, an economics professor at the University of International Business and Economics, said: "Small and medium-sized enterprises contribute to 95 percent of global economic growth. Through the initiative, the private sector can play its part in revisiting and potentially revising rules of world trade through business practices."

The initiative aims to unlock the potential of SMEs by enhancing connectivity, and e-commerce is a critical channel to reach that goal, said Zhao Lei, a professor at Institute for International Strategic Studies at the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China.

The initiative is important for the world, said Paul Kavanagh, Ambassador of Ireland to China. "It is a very open-minded cooperation initiative that welcomes all partners ... . It is very flexible, rather than building strict structures and protocols that constrain cooperation," Kavanagh said.