Walmart to invest $1.2bn in China to upgrade logistics

BEIJING: Walmart plans to invest 8 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) in China over the next 10 years to upgrade logistics, the US retail giant said on its social media account Monday.

The company also said in the statement it would set up or renovate more than 10 logistics centres in the country.

The statement followed a meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping over the weekend in Osaka, Japan that rekindled hope for a US-China trade deal.

Walmart has been pushing to integrate its retail network in China with the country's burgeoning "smart retail" movement, as retailers and tech giants such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd cut deals to combine online and high street shopping.

Last month, French retailer Carrefour agreed to sell 80% of its Chinese operations to electronics retailer Suning.com for 620 million euro.