Residents of the Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area in East China's Jiangsu province shop at the Freshippo mini store. [Photo provided to NETDA]

The first Freshippo mini store in Jiangsu province opened in the Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area (NETDA) on Sept 26.

Freshippo, the grocery retail chain of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, is a symbol of the new retail supermarket industry.

Cao Haifeng, deputy Part secretary of the NETDA administrative committee, noted at the opening ceremony that the entry of Freshippo into the area is both a testament to its business environment and an important component in implementing the strategic framework agreement between Nantong and Alibaba.

Cao expressed hope that Freshippo will continue to provide high-quality, diverse, and professional services with a high level of supply quality and contribute to accelerating the upgrading of commercial formats in the area.

Authorities will further deepen cooperation with Freshippo in the future and establish more diverse forms of businesses in the area, aiming to take its modern service industry to a new level, said a local official.