Hua Xia Shi Bao·2025-10-15 23:37Core Viewpoint - Alibaba Cloud is reducing prices for its Elastic Compute Service (ECS) products in overseas markets, with the highest reduction reaching 10.26%, signaling an aggressive expansion strategy in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East [2][3][4] Group 1: Price Reduction Details - The price adjustment will take effect on October 30, 2025, and affects regions including Frankfurt, Tokyo, and Dubai, with reductions ranging from 3.74% to 10.26% [2][3] - This is not the first price cut for Alibaba Cloud in overseas markets; a previous reduction in April 2022 saw discounts of up to 65% across various services [3] - The current price cut is seen as a signal of Alibaba Cloud's intent to accelerate its market presence in overseas regions, particularly in Europe and the Asia-Pacific [3] Group 2: Global Expansion Strategy - Alibaba Cloud has been pursuing a global strategy since its first overseas launch in Hong Kong in May 2014, expanding into North America, Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East [4] - The company is also focusing on Latin America, with plans to establish cloud computing nodes in Brazil, France, and the Netherlands, and expand data centers in Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Dubai [5] - As of September 2023, Alibaba Cloud operates in 29 regions with 91 available zones globally [5] Group 3: Competitive Landscape - Alibaba Cloud holds the leading position in the domestic cloud computing market, with a 33% market share in China's cloud infrastructure services as of Q1 2025 [6] - In contrast, the overseas market is dominated by major players like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, which collectively hold 65% of the global cloud infrastructure spending [7] - The focus of competition has shifted from price to AI and application scenarios, with Chinese cloud providers leveraging strengths in real-time audio-video and gaming social PaaS to differentiate themselves [7][8] Group 4: Future Outlook - The global AI industry has seen investments exceeding $400 billion in the past year, with projections of over $4 trillion in cumulative investment over the next five years [8] - Alibaba Cloud aims to position itself among the top 5-6 global cloud computing platforms, which is seen as a critical challenge for the company moving forward [8]