Also, Alibaba and Tencent Holdings Ltd (OTC: TCEHY) collaborated to promote their flagship brands in a rare collaboration, renewing focus on online shopping and esports.

Also Read: Alibaba Taps Meta Platforms To Further AI Journey

Taobao makes its debut in the esports live-streaming sector, dominated by Bilibili Inc (NASDAQ:BILI) and Tencent-backed Huya and Douyu.

China has eased its years-long crackdown on the video gaming industry and has been promoting esports ahead of the coming Asian Games.

Alibaba's China commerce business has suffered from weak retail sales nationwide. The revenue fell by 3% year-on-year in the March quarter. Contrastingly, Tencent saw its domestic gaming sales rise 6% during the quarter.

 Alibaba founder Jack Ma advised refocusing on Taobao and its consumers to survive the brutal competition and China's economic slowdown.

Price Action: BABA shares traded higher by 3.20% at $98.49 premarket on the last check Friday.

Photo by Fooksou Lamimo via Wikimedia Commons