Down 24% year to date, Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) hasn't escaped the impacts of the 2022 bear market. Like many e-commerce companies, it faces global macroeconomic challenges like inflation and possible recession. But China-specific headwinds are another big problem, too.

Let's take a look at both of these factors and what they could mean for the company's outlook in the year ahead.

Established in 1999, Alibaba is the undisputed leader in Chinese e-commerce, with a market share of 47%. But far from just an e-commerce company, it operates a portfolio business that includes cloud computing, traditional retail, and logistics. Alibaba's size gives it a solid economic moat against rivals through economies of scale and the "network effect," which is the value a platform gains as more people use it. 

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Source Fool.com