JD.com, China’s largest online direct sales company, has opened its first US facility, a new research and development center located in Silicon Valley.

Situated in Santa Clara, the new office will focus on developing and enhancing new and existing technologies that will improve the user experience for its customers in China and boost the company’s offerings.

The facility will also allow easier interactions between the company and US retailers, partners and brands seeking to establish or expand their presence in China on JD’s shopping platforms.

“Given the scope and strength of American brands, products and capabilities, the US was the obvious choice as we sought a location for our first office outside of Asia,” said Richard Liu, founder and CEO of JD.com.

Chen Zhang, senior vice president of JD.com and head of R&D for JD Mall will initially oversee the new office, which will focus on areas such as cloud computing, mobile applications and big-data infrastructure, and will provide both rotational job possibilities for engineers in China and opportunities for certain skilled technical workers in the area.

Last July JD.com launched US Mall on its website, dedicated exclusively to meeting the demand in the Chinese market for authentic imported American products.