One of the biggest names in Hollywood is teaming up with one the biggest names in e-commerce: Director Steven Spielberg and Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, announced a movie production and finance deal on Sunday.

Steven Spielberg, chairman of Amblin Partners, and Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba Group, attend an event to announce a partnership in Beijing on Sunday. [Photo/China Daily]

The new partnership between Spielberg's Amblin Partners and Ma's Alibaba Pictures Group will include a string of investments by Chinese companies to fulfill their global ambitions through Hollywood.

The tie-up between Alibaba Pictures and Los Angeles-based Amblin Partners is the latest among the spree of deals made in the past two years that intend to help both Hollywood movies better access the Chinese market, and Chinese companies to produce movies that have a global appeal.

At a press conference in Beijing on Sunday, Spielberg said the partnership will allow him to "bring more China to America and bring more America to China".

The agreement with Amblin Partners marks Alibaba Pictures' most comprehensive partnership deal to date with agreement to work together on production, marketing and distribution both globally and in China and marks its first investment in Hollywood.

Alibaba chief Jack Ma said that while the US and China "may have cultural differences", the partners will focus on human stories and serve as a bridge between the two countries.

Neither of the two sides has revealed the specific financial term of the deal, but Alibaba Pictures will get to name a representative on Amblin Partners' board.

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