The founder of China's Internet giant Alibaba urged Taiwanese businesses Tuesday to explore the Chinese market via the Internet. 'Taiwan's small companies should be able to sell their products to China through the Internet, ' said Jack Ma, chairman and chief executive officer of Alibaba Group, at an economic forum in Taipei. He said the Internet is the best means of allowing Taiwanese companies to enter the Chinese market 'at the lowest possible cost.' 'It also helps you communicate with the young generation, ' he said, stressing that many young people in China shop online. Ma, 46, also urged business executives to understand that young people today care about issues of environmental protection and carbon emission reduction. He said he has visited Taiwan four times and sees Taiwan as being full of opportunities. 'The Taiwan market has not been fully tapped by any means, ' he said at the forum that was organized by Taiwan's Chinese-language CommonWealth Magazine Group to discuss Asia's economic growth. In 2008, Alibaba set up a branch in Taiwan. Ma said that a company's business operation model should be one that cannot be copied. 'Because those that can be copied are of little value.' He said that there are many books on the market that analyze his operation model, but none of the writers have actually interviewed him. 'I hope someday there will be a book on the 1,001 mistakes made by Alibaba, which will greatly inspire people, ' he said. 'Some people put forward what seem to be good analyses (of my company), but they are not accurate about what happened back then, ' he said. Ma said that there has been a growing focus on shareholders, but throughout his 10-year career, he has put customers first, employees second and shareholders third. 'Before my company was listed, shareholders promised me, 'We will never sell your stocks, '' he recalled. 'But when the financial crisis occurred, they were the first to run away, ' he said to laughter from over 500 business leaders, officials and scholars. Ma said he believes that the 21st century will belong to those 'small companies that have big dreams.' He urged them to be courageous and embrace competition, so that 'when you are 90 -years-old, you will be telling stories, not talking about your dreams.' Ma has risen to prominence in recent years as a witty speaker and a successful businessman in China as his company has outperformed eBay in China and has taken over Yahoo's China operations. 