BEIJING, Dec. 25 -- U.S. Internet giant Amazon.com has announced that it will bring its Amazon Web Services (AWS) to China, starting with a preview in early 2014.

AWS's China Region Cloud will be backed by facilities in Beijing and western China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to offer cloud computing services to its Chinese customers, according to a memorandum of understanding signed on December 18 by the company, the governments of Beijing and Ningxia and Beijing-based Cloud Valley, an incubator for cloud computing startups.

A large data center will be built in Ningxia. The business operation center will be based in Beijing.

Zhejiang-based e-commerce company Alibaba is expected to be AWS's main rival in China.