AliExpress recruits Beckham to take on Temu

Chinese retail giants going head to head to capture consumers

An advertisement campaign featuring David Beckham will run in conjunction with the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament.

AliExpress, the e-commerce site owned by Chinese giant Alibaba, has signed former Manchester United and Real Madrid star David Beckham as a brand ambassador as it plays catch-up with rival PDD Holdings' Temu in a battle to sell cheap made-in-China goods to the world. 

A low-key cross-border player until recently, Alibaba is now investing aggressively to boost global sales as domestic e-commerce growth wanes. Its international division, which includes AliExpress, is its fastest-growing unit with revenues surging 45% year on year over January to March.