Alibaba founder Jack Ma announced on Monday the establishment of a platform to facilitate online communication among medical workers about coronavirus, share anti-epidemic resources and showcase relevant technology.

Ma made the announcement on his account on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform in China, on Monday.

The Global MediXchange for Combating COVID-19 (GMCC) program helps medical teams communicate with each other and share anti-epidemic knowledge and practical experience. It also provides overseas Chinese nationals with access to online medical consultation, according to the program's web page.

The program also focuses on supporting medical scientific research institutions with AI, big data, and cloud computing capabilities through Alibaba Health and Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, the data intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group.

The platform is composed of four centers: Resources Sharing Center, International Medical Expert Communication Center, COVID-19 Chinese Consultation Center and Fighting COVID-19 Technology Center.

Through video conferencing and real-time AI translation into 11 languages including Arabic, Bahasa, and Spanish, the International Medical Expert Communication Center builds a virtual community, inviting Chinese doctors on the frontline of the battle, such as the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University who has already joined the program, to share their experiences and answer questions from global peers.

Ma extended thanks to the frontline doctors who are volunteering to provide consultation to their overseas compatriots by answering questions on COVID-19 prevention and treatment.

"Now, we can't beat this virus unless we share our resources, know-how and hard-earned lessons," he said.

Globally, there are over 350,000 coronavirus cases, with deaths soaring past 15,000 as of Monday.