Baidu, Rakuten to launch Alibaba rival this year

The venture - an attempt to lure users away from China's leading ecommerce sites, Alibaba.com and Taobao.com - looks to sell goods from both domestic and international brands and will additionally cater to SMEs.

The mall is slated to launch in the second half of this year. According to the agreement, Rakuten will own 51 per cent and Baidu 49 per cent.

"As the Chinese Internet space continues its rapid development, an increasing number of businesses and consumers are engaging in e-commerce,” Baidu's vice-president of marketing and business development Ren Xuyang said in a statement. “I believe the platform that Rakuten and Baidu are building will provide users with a diversified and satisfying shopping experience while driving the broader development of China's e-commerce space."

The news comes as Rakuten looks to strengthen its position as an e-commerce leader and Baidu aims to diversify its operations. Last month, Rakuten appointed online video specialist Brightcove to act as the supporting platform for promotional videos on its Rakuten Ichiba virtual shopping mall.

Baidu, meanwhile, announced its plan to launch an independent online video company to air licenced videos in the mainland. It has explored the launch of a legal music player and has expressed interest in entering the gaming sector.