eBay bows to Alibaba in China

SFGate:

EBay has little hope of capturing a bigger share of the Chinese online auction market despite bankrolling a major expansion there, according to the company’s chief Chinese rival.

Jack Ma, chief executive of Alibaba.com, China’s leading Internet marketplace, said that early mistakes by eBay have made it difficult for the company to gain traction in what is an increasingly important beachhead for e-commerce.

“In China, they are gone,” Ma said during an interview Friday with members of The Chronicle’s business staff. “They have made so many mistakes in China — we’re lucky.”