By SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Walmart China announced on Tuesday it has entered into a new strategic partnership with China’s biggest food delivery company Meituan.
The China unit of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) said in a post on Wechat the partnership would help it accelerate its e-commerce business, which currently accounts for nearly half of it China sales. Stores in China have already been connected to Meituan’s delivery ecosystem, the announcement added.
In addition to Walmart stores, Walmart China has opened 50 Sam’s Club stores in China, which have benefitted from Chinese consumers increasingly seeking out membership stores.
Walmart was previously aligned with Chinese e-commerce firm JD (NASDAQ:JD).com before selling its roughly $3.7 billion stake in August. At that time the U.S. retail company said it would focus on its own operations in China.