(Yicai Global) Jan. 24 -- Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, posted a photo on Twitter of herself with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s billionaire founder Jack Ma following a meeting at Davos 2018.

"I had a fascinating conversation with Jack Ma from Alibaba on financial inclusion, empowering youth and creation of jobs," the head of the Washington-based lender tweeted yesterday.

Lagarde talked about inclusive and green finance with Ma, executive chairman of China's e-commerce giant, and others, including Eric Jing, chief executive of Ant Financial Services Group, Alibaba's fintech arm. She had spoken with Ma about inclusive finance at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2015.

This year's gathering of government officials, central bankers, corporate executives and investors got underway yesterday in the Swiss town. Lagarde is one of seven people co-chairing the event, which runs through Jan. 26.

The IMF has been paying attention to the development of inclusive finance and has set up an advanced financial technology consulting team. Ant Financial Chief Strategy Office Chen Long is the sole Chinese member of that team.