Indonesian president calls on Jack Ma as economic advisor

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (second from left) and his wife visit Alibaba Xixi headquarters, accompanied by Jack Ma (right), chair of the B20's SME development taskforce and chairman of Alibaba Group, in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, on September 2, 2016. [Photo by Wei Zhiyang, Zhejiang Daily/Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Indonesian government's support to and vision of the SMEs are consistent with Alibaba's, said Ma, who accompanied Widodo and his wife during the visit to Alibaba Xixi headquarters.

Indonesia holds great potential in e-commerce with its large population and numbers of SMEs, he said, adding that Alibaba's business model is suitable for the Indonesian market and he is confident Alibaba can help Indonesian companies.

The G20 summit is scheduled to run from September 4-5 in Hangzhou.